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Dozens of trafficked Indonesians repatriated
Dozens of trafficked Indonesian nationals across multiple Southeast Asian countries were rescued last week after being held hostage and forced to perform online scams, the Foreign Ministry said over the weekend, as ASEAN continues to ramp up its efforts to eradicate the increasingly popular crime.
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An illustration of human trafficking. (Shutterstock/-)
D
ozens of trafficked Indonesian nationals across multiple Southeast Asian countries were rescued last week after being held hostage and forced to perform online scams, the Foreign Ministry said over the weekend, as ASEAN continues to ramp up its efforts to eradicate the increasingly popular crime.
So far Indonesia has repatriated 26 trafficking victims from Myanmar, 37 from Laos and a portion of the total 240 victims in the Philippines.
Southeast Asian countries have seen a sharp increase in numbers of human trafficking cases since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when economic uncertainty and unemployment drove the vulnerable population into falling to the traps of traffickers promising entry-level jobs abroad for higher pay.
Last year alone, the Foreign Ministry recorded over 600 repatriation cases of citizens falling victim to a human trafficking scheme in Cambodia, while the latest estimates from April indicate over 2,100 cases are still being processed. In most cases, victims would have their passports immediately confiscated by their employers before being taken hostage and forced to do online scams to fulfill a certain quota.
The National Police said the 240 Indonesians in the Philippines would be repatriated in batches, adding that 2 additional people have been apprehended by Manila’s authorities after being flagged as perpetrators.
“The Philippines Bureau of Immigration has approved the repatriation of 240 Indonesian nationals, and is currently setting up the repatriation schedule with the Indonesian Embassy,” police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan said on Thursday.
On the same day, another 26 Indonesian victims were evacuated from conflict-ridden Myanmar with the help of Thailand’s authorities. The Indonesian Embassy in Thailand is now collaborating with the International Organization for Migration and the International Justice Mission for the assessment process ahead of the repatriation.
