The victims, from 19 countries, have been released from human trafficking “scam compounds” in Myanmar.
The news comes from International Justice Mission, a Christian non-governmental legal rights organization. Hundreds more are expected to be freed from other compounds in the near future.
Scamming complexes are known for forcing trafficking victims into work under grueling conditions, alongside suffering physical violence and ongoing surveillance.
IJM Thailand worked with Thai authorities and local nonprofit organizations to mobilize a team of workers to aid the victims late last month.
This included identifying the workers as trafficking victims by supporting Thai Government multi-disciplinary teams and helping to provide translation services.
Trafficking victims, numbering in the thousands, are enticed to the scam centers by traffickers falsely promising high salaries. These “jobs” are depicted as white-collar roles in Bangkok or the nearby region, but the victims are forced to cross the border into Myanmar and exploited in hard working conditions.
IJM’s offices in Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia work with government agencies and embassies to rescue and care for survivors, alongside supporting cross-border investigations into the human trafficking networks. As many as 500 individuals have been helped since 2021.