Families of human trafficking victims of an online scam hub in Cambodia demanded justice at a press conference hosted by migrant rights group Migrante International on Monday.
Ten Filipinos were repatriated on April 20 after being forced to do online scam work in a compound in Oddar Meanchey, northern Cambodia before they were taken and moved to a detention center for weeks. The victims were enticed online with jobs related to BPO work and were brought by traffickers, one of them another Filipino, to Cambodia through Hong Kong.
At the online scam compound in a secluded rural location, the victims were forced to scam other Filipinos under threats of physical torture.
“Customer service representative ang trabahong inalok sa kanila. Noong dumating sila sa Cambodia site, hinarap sila sa computer at pinagsusulat sila ng 100 copies ng scripts para lokohin ang mga kapwa Pinoy sa US. Tapos pinakita sila ng mga taong sinasaktan, nginungudngod ang ulo dahil hindi sila sumunod sa utos ng boss,” said a relative of a trafficking victim.
(“They were offered jobs as customer service representatives. When they came to the Cambodia site, they were put in front of a computer and made to write 100 copies of scripts to swindle fellow Pinoys in the US. Then they showed other people getting beaten up, their heads being pressed down because they didn’t follow the boss’s orders.”)
After contacting the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia to appeal for rescue and assistance, the 10 Filipinos were brought to the police but not before the traffickers confiscated the victims’ belongings and physically abused some of them after finding out that they had contacted the local Philippine Embassy. Hoping to find rescue and refuge in a safe shelter, the trafficking victims were instead detained in a cramped jail cell without proper access to food, water, or sanitation for weeks.
Migrante International slammed the “same-old sluggish and passive” response on the part of the Philippine government to the plight of the ten trafficking victims.
“Palpak ang tugon ng gobyerno para proteksyunan ang mga biktima. Hindi sila nai-rescue ng Philippine Embassy at nailigtas sa madaling panahon. Nilagay pa sila sa panganib dahil imbis na sila mismo nag rescue sa mga biktima at nilagay sa isang safe shelter, nakulong pa ang mga biktima na parang kriminal,” said Josie Pingkihan, Deputy Secretary General of Migrante International.
(“The government’s response to protect the victims was a failure. The Philippine Embassy did not rescue them and ensure their immediate safety. Instead, they were put in more danger because, rather than being rescued and placed in a safe shelter, the victims were detained like criminals.”)
Relatives of the victims reported that Philippine Embassy officials did not visit the victims to assess and evaluate their conditions, even after having received reports of torture. The victims resorted to rationing and went for days without food at the detention center because of the small quantities of food brought by the Embassy.
At the press conference, families and advocates demanded justice for the victims and called on the Philippine government to prosecute the human traffickers while upholding the rights and dignity of the victims.
“Hindi ang mga biktima ang may kasalanan at hindi sila ang dapat sisihin. Kung mabagal at kulang ang tugon ng gobyerno sa mga biktima, paano pa nila mapapanagot itong mga nanloloko sa ating mga kababayan,” said the relative of another victim.
Marcos Jr: number one labor trafficker
Migrante denounced the Marcos Jr. administration as the “number one trafficker in the Philippines” for failing to address worsening labor trafficking schemes by prioritizing local job creation with living wages that will give Filipinos reason not to fall as desperate prey to traffickers.
“Si Marcos Jr. ang number one trafficker na dapat managot dahil nagbibingihan siya sa panawagan para sa regular na trabaho at nakabubuhay na sahod at ito ang mayor na sanhi bakit tumataas ang bilang ng mga nabibiktima. Hindi malulutas ang problema ng trafficking kung hindi matutugunan ang mga panawagan para sa trabaho, sahod, pagbaba ng presyo ng bilihin at pagunlad ng pampublikong serbisyo,” said Pingkihan.
(“Marcos Jr. is the #1 trafficker who must be held accountable because he is turning a deaf ear to the calls for regular jobs and livable wages—this is the main reason why the number of victims continues to rise. The problem of trafficking will not be solved unless the demands for jobs, fair wages, lower prices of goods, and improved public services are addressed.”)
“Simula ng panunugkulan ni BBM, tumaas ang bilang ng mga nabibikitima ng iba’t-ibang iskema ng labor trafficking sa South East Asia, maging sa mga iba’t-iba pang mga bansa. Walang ginawang signipikanteng measures ang kanyang administrasyon para sugpuin ang krimen na ito–bagkus lumalala pa,” continued Pingkihan.
(“Since BBM took office, the number of victims falling prey to various labor trafficking schemes in Southeast Asia, as well as in other countries, has increased. His administration has not taken any significant measures to combat this crime—on the contrary, the situation has worsened.”)
Migrante pledged its continuing solidarity with all trafficking victims and their families, and called for justice through the end of all forms of labor trafficking.###
