16 years a slave; a trafficking survivor shares his story

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Human trafficking is the world’s fastest growing global crime and the third most profitable organised crime after the trade in drugs and arms trade. Laos is a source and, to a much lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women, children and men subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour.

Each year, hundreds of young people are trafficked out of Lao. Many young people who leave their homes to find work in another country have been tricked into jobs that are unsafe, exploitative and abusive. Khamdy* is one of them. He was 22, newly married and a brand new father when he left home in Savnnakhet province to earn more income for his family in Thailand. 

Just after he crossed the border, Khamdy went to a broker’s house, a man with experience helping Lao labourers find work. The man called a truck to pick him up along with 19 other Lao workers who had also just arrived.

After long days of road travel, switching brokers, and changing from trucks to cars, they finally arrived in Bangkok. They expected to get out and look for work. Instead, they were told by the driver that he was taking them to Pattani province in the south of Thailand.

SOLD TO THE FISHING INDUSTRY

The brokers sold Khamdy to work on a fishing boat.  He worked 18-20 hours a day fishing. Over the course of 16 years he was sold multiple times to different boats in Thailand, Malasia and Indonesia. Although some boats and owners were better than others, the overall conditions were the same, long hours fishing; little to no food and little to no financial compensation.

The last time he was sold, it was to an Indonesian boat. Khamdy protested. His response angered the owner. He was not allowed to eat. One night around midnight, a woman snuck into his room to inform him that the owner wanted him dead.

The next night, Khamdy saw four men, one carrying a knife. They came and beat him. His nose was bleeding hard, so he asked to use the toilet.