Between 36 to 41 South Africans have escaped a cyberfraud compound in Myanmar and require assistance to return home, a non-profit organisation says.
They were lured to Thailand with the promise of jobs in marketing, teaching and hospitality, but on arrival at Bangkok airport they were trafficked into Myanmar in similar fashion to a group of 23 rescued earlier this year. There they were held hostage and forced to work on online scams.
Reuters reports Myanmar has led a series of raids on the notorious Chinese-backed KK Park cybercrime compound since last week, driving a large number of people, mostly foreign nationals who worked there, into the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
About 1,500 people from 28 countries were detained at the Thai border while legal proceedings and screenings unfolded.
Thailand was allowing 100 people per day to cross into the country, said Emma van der Walt from Brave to Love, which assists victims of human trafficking. She has called for public assistance on behalf of the South Africans.
“The+ individuals endured unimaginable exploitation and violence at the hands of international criminal networks.
“Repatriation costs are the final barrier standing between them and the safety of home. Flights, buses, toiletries, food, emergency documentation, safe shelter, trauma-informed care and essential support must be secured immediately to ensure the survivors are not retargeted or left vulnerable in a foreign country.”
Reuters said KK Park and others nearby are run primarily by Chinese criminal gangs and guarded by local militia groups aligned to Myanmar’s military.
Van der Walt said the recruitment of South Africans started with advertisements on social media for jobs offering R15,000 a month.
Recruiters are physically based in SA and Namibia, she said, cautioning job seekers to take extra steps to check the validity of work opportunities.
The department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) has also urged young South Africans to exercise caution when engaging with online job advertisements.
In August, deputy director-general Clayson Monyela, responsible for public diplomacy, urged vigilance: “Human trafficking syndicates are luring people into all sorts of illegal activities under slave-like conditions. If something looks too good to be true, get a second opinion. Contact Dirco or any of our embassies in the country of interest.”
Dirco helped repatriate the group who were freed from the Myanmar compound earlier this year and is investigating reports of youths being lured into dubious jobs from Russia.
Dr Krinesha Messif, lecturer in social work and criminology at the University of Pretoria, previously told TimesLIVE common red flags include unrealistic salary expectations, lack of a formal interview process, demands for payment upfront for applications and vague job descriptions.
Overly generous benefits can be particularly suspicious as these may indicate an attempt to lure individuals into exploitive situations.
Job seekers should undertake due diligence to authenticate international offers, she said.
“This can include researching the hiring company’s reputation through official websites, checking for contact information and consulting independent reviews. Engaging with local labour agencies or monitoring platforms for reported scams can further illuminate the legitimacy of a job opportunity.”
TimesLIVE
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