23 Labor Trafficking Victims Were Back to Community Successfully

Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights (CCPCR) reintegrated 23 labor trafficking victims to their homeland successfully on september, 9th, after they were trafficked to work in Malaysia illegally and arrested to imprison for a month.

The victims were rescued by Cambodian authorities in Malaysia and they were repatriated back to Cambodia through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the collaboration of International Organization for Migration (IOM). So far they were reintegrated to community in Kratie and Kandal province successfully with the collaboration of CCPCR and CENTRAL. Therefore, most of the victims were poverty, unemployed, poor knowledge so they were cheated by broker easily.

One victim said he included other 22 victims were cheated and forced to work for a prolonged time in paper pad factory, but they got paid only 35,000 riels per day. He with his wife and son who were the same labor victims, got threatened and forced to work harder from day to day without increasing wage, eating and sleeping enough, he added.

He stated "I were regreted that I believed on brokers lure with high income but I committed not to go there again. I got mistreated and warned with arrested if I was out of workplace. I were charged more than 10000 Riels per day for not tasteful and full eating food,…But the work condition still increase every day."

He continued that he was arrested after fleeing from a wooden shed factory, because he was forced by brokers to thumb print for being removed to one another workplace. When arrived Cambodia those victims were referred to CCPCR and they got provided the services.

One victim's mother said that she regreted of believing on brokers' persuading to work with high salary in Malaysia. But she complained about the decision of migrant to work there because they are poor, no sustain job and income to support family. She continued that if NGOs provide them with support and help on vocational training, agriculture or animal raising training and offer some animals, they will be avoid from repeated migration.

Commune Chief who attended and welcomed their arrival stated that in his commune there are a lot of people migrated legally to work in Japan, Korea and Thailand, but some families were migrated illegally to Malaysia through their relatives. So far the authorities also used to advise them about challenges and unsafety of illegal migration.

CCPCR's Shelter Manager Mrs. Pok Bunna said getting supported by a partner of USAID's Cambodian Countering Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program implemented by Winrock International, CCPCR is working closely with those victims to provide some service, such as safety reintegration to community, counseling, and interview about situation of their family.

CCPCR will follow up with them to provide their some basic needs such as, vocational training and job placement and small business in order to reduce maximum of unsafe migration and human trafficking in Cambodia.