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Labor Demand in Malaysia Creates Human Trafficking Boon

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BANGKOK – With the high demand for cheap labor in Malaysia the number of human trafficking victims rescued in Thailand is set to hit a record high this year.

Thai police have rescued 974 human trafficking victims, mostly from Myanmar already this year, compared to 622 last year.

A previous annual high of 982 in 2015, according to data released last week by the Thai government’s anti-trafficking division.

Thailand has come under scrutiny in recent years for slavery and human trafficking, especially in its seafood and sex industries.

The US State Department this year kept Thailand on a watchlist and criticized the government for not doing enough to tackle the problem.

There’s a high possibility that figures this year will reach a record high.

Trafficked Migrant Workers Rescued

human trafficking

Fifty-seven illegal migrant workers from Myanmar were rescued at a rubber plantation while awaiting transport to Malaysia.

Many victims tell us they were planning to work in Malaysia,” said Pol. Col Mana Kleebsattabudh, deputy commander at the anti-trafficking division.

There are about 4.9 million migrants in Thailand, making up more than 10 per cent of the country’s workforce.

Most are from poorer neighboring countries including Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Kleebsattabudh said most of the rescued human trafficking victims were recruited by middleman and agencies for 20,000-30,000 baht (US$650-US$975) to work in factories in Malaysia.

Many were rescued while being transported towards the southern Thai border with Malaysia.

What we find is these people are being kept in bad conditions in forests and shacks far from communities.

This shows the bad intentions of those bringing them,” Kleebsattabudh told Reuters.

“More importantly, the victims don’t see themselves as being deceived and often endure the hardship in order to get to their destination.”

Kleebsattabudh said the spike in arrests could lead to an increase in smugglers and traffickers using alternative sea routes instead, which lowers the risk of being caught by authorities and is cheaper.

Rohingya Shipped by Boat

human trafficking boat rescue

Rohingya shipped by human traffickers sitting on a boat drifting in Thai waters off the southern island of Koh Lipe, Thailand

The most recent case by sea was on Jun 11, when a fishing boat carrying at least 70 Rohingya Muslims was found stranded on the southern island of Koh Lipe, said Kleebsattabudh.

The boat had come from Bangladesh and had been at sea for two to three days before running out of oil and being swept away to the island, where two speedboats picked up some of the people, leaving 71 on the beach, he said.

“They slept on plastic sheets next to each other like animals. This is inhumane,” he said of the cramped conditions.

Adisorn Kerdmongkol, a coordinator at the Migrant Working Group, a network of non-governmental organisations working on migrant workers’ rights, questioned whether all those rescued by Thai police were trafficking victims or being smuggled.

Unlike trafficking, which is control over another person for the purpose of exploitation, smuggling is merely illegal entry into another country.

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