Village freed from trafficking, four arrests made

Friday, 17 February 2012

Last week SISHA was contacted by police in Battambang province, Cambodia, requesting assistance on an operation where they had uncovered a large trafficked group en-route to Thailand.

The SISHA Operations Team and an Aftercare Assistant quickly responded, travelling to Battambang to consult with police and assist in the investigation.

Police explained that an entire village of 51 people including 19 minors had been stopped on the Thai/Cambodia border because their group looked suspicious. It was clear after questioning the people that they were being trafficked to Thailand by several brokers into an exploitative situation of bonded labour.

The SISHA Operations Team interviewed the victims to determine where they came from and why they were going to Thailand. The people had come from a farming community whose village and crops had been ravaged by the recent floods. Their livelihood was bound to their ability to grow crops to sell at the market, and when this was gone they were left in an extremely vulnerable position.

Four brokers arrived in the village offering to transport the people to Thailand with the promise of jobs. Understandably, the people saw this as an opportunity to better their circumstances. The brokers offered to pay the bribe to enable the group’s entry into Thailand. However, after arrival they would have imposed an exploitative debt on the trafficked people that would keep them in bondage, with the possibility of never being able to pay it off.

SISHA’s Operations Team uncovered the identities of the four brokers who were trafficking the group, and arrests were made the following day in collaboration with Battambang Police.

While this was happening, SISHA’s Aftercare Assistant was hard at work establishing how best to assist the survivors. She talked to each family and group about what they wanted to do, as well as offering work skills training programs for the adults and aftercare facilities for the minors.

After networking with locals, she assisted 15 people into getting employment on a nearby farm in Palin province. This has meant several families do not have to migrate to be able to support themselves.

Many of the villagers were interested in work skills training and our Aftercare staff are currently hard at work finding placements for the eager people. Some decided to return home and are remaining in contact with SISHA to receive ongoing support from our staff.

Another job well done by the whole SISHA team!

Bonded labour victimizes the most vulnerable sections of society while violating their internationally-recognized fundamental human rights, including the rights to be free from slavery, to just and favourable working conditions, non-discrimination, and to liberty and security of the person.

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