Five Cambodian Men Rescued From Trafficking Ring - licadho.org, 5 August 2008

On October 26, 2007, four Cambodian men aged between 20 to 37 years were trafficked from Takeo province to work on a deep-sea fishing boat off the coast of Thailand. Chronic unemployment and poverty drove the men to seek work abroad and into an environment they knew little about. Whilst it was the mens' choice to search for work overseas, they were unaware that they were being trafficked into forced labor in Thailand. Their arduous journey took them from a small village in Cambodia to a remote forest in Thailand and then to the coast of East Malaysia, however through the cooperation of several NGOs in the region the men were able to be returned to their homes in Cambodia. Their ordeal has now launched efforts by several NGOs to establish networks across Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia to break trafficking rings and to help repatriate victims.

Working as farmers in Takeo province the four men were unable to earn enough money to support their families and previous attempts to seek work in neighboring villages were unsuccessful. A broker and relative of one of the men asked them whether they would consider working in Thailand. Attracted by the promise of well paying jobs they agreed to travel with the broker to Thailand.

The Journey

The broker escorted the men to Banteay Meanchey province in Cambodia's North West and here introduced them to another Cambodian man who smuggled the men into Thailand through the Malai border entrance. Once they arrived through the forest, another Cambodian broker was waiting to pick them up. The men were then driven to a guesthouse just outside of Paknam, Samut Prakan on the coast of Thailand. Here they were locked in a room for five days before being taken to the fishing boat.

At this point the men still believed that they were able to secure a well paying job. The Cambodian broker told them that they would be paid between 4000 to 5000 Baht/month (USD$120-150) and would be able to send money home to their families every seven months. They were also told that they could borrow USD$250 to send back home before boarding the boat. The men agreed to this however they subsequently found out that no money was ever sent to their families.

On the boat they were forced to work day and night without adequate rest or food, going some days with only one or two hours sleep. The Thai captain constantly threatened to beat or throw anyone over board who disobeyed his orders. The men also found that the rest of the Cambodian crew were also being exploited and had been trafficked by Cambodian brokers.

The Escape

In early 2008 the boat began illegally fishing in Malaysia waters, however after sometime the captain decided that it was too risky and docked at a port in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak to apply for a fishing permit. The fishing boat had always remained at sea so the four men took advantage of this opportunity and on 21 March 2008 they were able to escape from the ship. Once on land the men hid in the forest and stayed hidden there for several days for fear of being arrested by the Malaysian police. They only ventured outside at nighttime in search of food.

One night while they scavenged for food, they coincidently met another Cambodian fisherman from Battambang province. The man also a victim of trafficking had apparently escaped three months earlier from another Thai fishing boat. That man had a mobile phone, and he allowed four men to contact their families in Cambodia. The families upon hearing of their situation immediately approached LICADHO for assistance. The families had long suspected that the men may have fallen victim to a trafficking ring, however only now had they received confirmation.

The Rescue

LICADHO was then able to directly contact the five Cambodian men in Malaysia and also alert its regional partners, to provide case information for the Malaysian authorities to identify the men. In cooperation with the Malaysian authorities, UNIAP (The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region), Tenaganita and the Cambodian Embassy, the five men were transferred back to Cambodia safely on 19 April 2008. UNIAP providing the cost of flying the five men back to Cambodia. Once in Cambodia LICADHO was able to provide food and clothing for the men and arranged for their safe return to their respective provinces.

Last month the UNIAP and LICADHO followed-up with the trafficked men with an aim to identify the route and location of the border crossing and the guesthouse in Thailand used by the traffickers. The initial broker who convinced the men to work in Thailand however has yet to be apprehended and is suspected to be living somewhere along the Thai-Cambodia border. For now the four men from Takeo have managed to find work as farmers and fishermen in their home town. However, the man from Battambang decided to go back to work in Thailand in a brick factory.