Human Trafficking in [Malaysia Street Children in [Malaysia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Malaysia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first ten years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2009
Malaysia is a destination and, to a
lesser extent, a source and transit country for women and children trafficked
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and for men, women, and
children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor. Malaysia is mainly a
destination country for men, women, and children who migrate willingly from
Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the
Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Vietnam for
work – usually legal, contractual labor – and are subsequently subjected to
conditions of involuntary servitude in the domestic, agricultural, food
service, construction, plantation, industrial, and fisheries sectors. Some
foreign women and girls are also victims of commercial sexual
exploitation. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Kin
of human trafficking victims seek Government intervention "Our brothers (in Malaysia)
are being tortured by their employers. They get meals only once a day and are
made to work for more then 12 hours a day," Behra
added. A Bhubaneswar-based
placement agency lured seven youths of Kendrapara
District's Mangalpur and Raghunathpur
villages with an offer of lucrative job at Omega Wood Industry in Kuala
Lumpur. The youths also paid the
placement agency over 100,000 rupees for a job in Malaysia. The moment they landed in Kuala
Lumpur on January 10, their passports and visas were snatched by a member of
the placement agency. They were then
taken to the jungles. But instead of getting an office job, they were forced
to do physical labour and were kept in inhuman
conditions. Migrant Worker’s Death Exposes Slave-like Conditions migrationmalaysia.net/?p=86 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Ganesh was reportedly subjected to daily
beatings, deprived of food and sufficient rest, and chained and locked in a
dark room. He was eventually dumped in a wooded area, but was found by
villagers who sent him to hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on Apr. 27.
Pictures of his gaunt face, the horrendous bruises on his back and his
protruding rib cage shocked Malaysians. In hospital, he was little more than
a bag of blistered skin and bones. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Foreign
trafficking victims were kept compliant through involuntary confinement,
confiscation of travel documents, debt bondage, and physical abuse. During
the year there were reports of foreign women escaping from apartments where
they were held and forced to serve as unwilling prostitutes. According to
news reports, these women said that they were lured to the country by
promises of legitimate employment but forced into prostitution upon their
arrival in the country. In September authorities rescued eight trafficked
Indonesian women forced to work as prostitutes in conditions intended to make
them pregnant. According to a senior police official, their babies were sold
soon after birth by the traffickers. Exploitation
of Bangladeshis in Malaysia - HR activist terms it human trafficking www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=83694 The exploitative practices centring Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia constitute
nothing other than human trafficking; the governments of Bangladesh and
Malaysia have not been able to protect the workers' rights, said Irene
Fernandez, a veteran migrants' rights activist of Malaysia. When they brought workers in surplus
numbers to Malaysia, they were only interested in making fast cash. The
outsourcing companies told Bangladeshi job brokers 'you pay me 500 ringgit per worker and find jobs for them and do
whatever'. So, Bangladeshi job brokers then bought the workers from the
outsourcing companies, and literally made them slaves. The brokers then told
the workers 'you go and work, I will give you food
and lodging'. And the workers were put to work for two, three, or four
months. So, the contract that had been signed between the workers and
recruiting agencies in Bangladesh, which was attested by the Bangladesh
government, had no meaning any more. The question is now, why no action
is being taken against the Malaysian outsourcing companies for the fact that
they violated the contracts. Again, the governments of both countries have
not been able to enforce the rules. Malaysia has to make its companies
accountable, and Bangladesh has to make its recruiting agencies accountable.
Because the passports of the workers are being held and the workers who don't
have any job are being locked up by the job brokers or the outsourcing
companies, it constitutes nothing but human trafficking. And, with the global
economic recession, the situation is going to worsen, because many of the companies,
particularly in the manufacturing sector, are collapsing. No
Sanctuary: Trafficking of Burmese people at the ThaiMalay
Border www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/02/13/opinion/opinion_30095590.php
Last year, Human Rights Watch
interviewed two dozen undocumented Burmese, including Rohingya,
who described how Malaysian officials apprehended them during raids, kept
them in detention centres, and then dumped them at
the Thai border, often directly into the hands of waiting criminal gangs.
Many of the Burmese I spoke with said that Malaysian immigration officials
accompanying the deportees called the gangs en route to arrange where and
when to deposit their human cargo. Deportees with money can pay
smugglers to return them to Malaysia undetected. But those without money
usually fall into the hands of traffickers. One Burmese woman told me,
"If we don't pay we will be killed, or sold, or forced to marry unknown
men." A Burmese man described how he was
deported to the border with 50 other Burmese. Only 10 could pay their way
out. Traffickers sold the rest: "The gang said they will send you to
work on fishing boats or rubber plantations. Some who tried to escape were
shot and killed." Local activists call it a "revolving door of
abuse". Take
trafficking of refugees seriously www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/alice-nah/16527-take-trafficking-of-refugees-seriously
Last week, the US Senate Foreign
Relations Committee drew attention to the trafficking of migrants and
refugees at the Malaysia-Thai border. They highlighted the shocking fact that
Malaysian law enforcement officials are complicit in the “sale” of people to
human smugglers/traffickers. WHAT HAPPENS AT THE BORDER? - Deportees who have returned to
Malaysia describe that they are brought from immigration detention depots to
locations at the border under guard and in handcuffs in vehicles. When they
disembark, they are forced to walk into areas guarded by human
smugglers/traffickers. They have no way of escape. They are caught and kept
under armed surveillance in confined, crowded and isolated locations, often
deep in the jungle. Some women are raped repeatedly. They are given handphones
and instructed to contact family/friends to raise money for their release;
they are beaten and threatened into submission. Prices vary between RM1,400 and RM2,500. Some who have dared to question why
prices are so high have been told that this covers the amount paid to
immigration officials. They are told to deposit the money into specific bank
accounts. Once the money is deposited, they are brought in cars to designated
locations and released. It costs more to be sent back to Malaysia; some are
released in Thailand. Those who are
unable to pay are sold — men to work on fishing boats and plantations, and
women to brothels or “private owners” who keep them in servitude for sex
and/or forced labour. Those who have been forced to
work on boats tell harrowing tales of having seen fellow workers shot and
thrown overboard if they protest. Anti-Trafficking Law Rescues 33 Victims Of Human Trafficking www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=337062 www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=337062 Chor said many foreign women who had
been arrested or rescued from prostitution claimed to be victims of
trafficking. "However, further
investigation revealed that many had entered the country on their own accord
for economic gain," he said. mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/21029/84/
The report suggests that Malaysian
authorities are in cohorts with human traffickers in Southern
Thailand: “Burmese migrants are reportedly taken by Malaysian
Government personnel from detention facilities to the Malaysia-Thailand border
for deportation. Upon arrival at the Malaysia-Thailand border, human
traffickers reportedly take possession of the migrants and issue ransom
demands on an individual basis. Migrants state that freedom is possible only
once money demands are met. Specific payment procedures are outlined, which
reportedly include bank accounts in Kuala Lumpur to which money should be
transferred. The committee was informed that on some occasions, the
‘‘attendance’’ list reviewed by traffickers along the border was identical to
the attendance list read prior to departure from the Malaysian detention
facilities. Migrants state that those
unable to pay are turned over to human peddlers in Human Traffickers
Get Free Rein with Burmese Migrants in Malaysia Burmese migrant workers in
Malaysia live at the mercy of international human-trafficking gangs who sell
them back and forth as slave labor with the full knowledge of Malaysian and
Thai immigration officials, RFA's Burmese service
reports. Thousands and perhaps
hundreds of thousands of Burmese find themselves stuck in a human rights
no-man’s-land after losing their legal status, often because employers
withhold passports or refuse to pay their return airfares. Several secret jails or
deportation camps exist around the country to hold foreign nationals found
without papers. From there, officials take them to the Thai border, where
trafficking gangs have close ties to Malaysian officials and have been tipped
off to their arrival. Malaysia,
Viet Nam police to investigate human trafficking Malaysian Deputy Inspector-General
of Police Ismail Omar said that scores of young
women from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region in
Viet Nam had been enticed by promises of well-paid work as waitresses in
Malaysia. The trafficking ring
allegedly organised their passports and flight
tickets and then forced them into prostitution. If they refused, they were locked up,
beaten and starved, according to the report. Ex-US Marine leads rescue of Pinays
held in Malaysia www2.manilamaildc.net/article2559.html At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Ejercito wanted to work as a nurse in the US may alienate Muslims over human trade -Malaysia africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnKLR232453.html At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Still, With Malaysians reluctant to take
up menial jobs, the country is one of Asia's largest importers of foreign labour, which makes up a quarter of a workforce of about
10.5 million, particularly on plantations, in construction and as maids. Malaysians got a harrowing glimpse into the
treatment of some domestic workers when newspapers reported the death in
April of an Indian migrant worker after eight months of being beaten, chained
up and starved by his employers in a sauce business. Kin
of human trafficking victims seek Government intervention "Our brothers (in Malaysia)
are being tortured by their employers. They get meals only once a day and are
made to work for more then 12 hours a day," Behra
added. A Bhubaneswar-based
placement agency lured seven youths of Kendrapara
District's Mangalpur and Raghunathpur
villages with an offer of lucrative job at Omega Wood Industry in Kuala
Lumpur. The youths also paid the
placement agency over 100,000 rupees for a job in Malaysia. The moment they landed in Kuala
Lumpur on January 10, their passports and visas were snatched by a member of
the placement agency. They were then
taken to the jungles. But instead of getting an office job, they were forced
to do physical labour and were kept in inhuman conditions. Migrant Worker’s Death Exposes Slave-like Conditions migrationmalaysia.net/?p=86 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Ganesh was reportedly subjected to daily
beatings, deprived of food and sufficient rest, and chained and locked in a dark
room. He was eventually dumped in a wooded area, but was found by villagers
who sent him to hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on Apr. 27. Pictures
of his gaunt face, the horrendous bruises on his back and his protruding rib
cage shocked Malaysians. In hospital, he was little more than a bag of
blistered skin and bones. No Whipping For Human Trafficking Offenders [PDF] www.malaysianbar.org.my/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=9068 www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=263964 The government does not plan to introduce whipping for human trafficking offenders as it is not in line with international laws that seek to abolish corporal punishment, the Dewan Negara heard today. "We will only extend the jail term in accordance with what the United Nations (UN) wants," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz when winding-up the debate on the Anti-Human Trafficking Bill 2007. www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/SundayInterview/20070429085157/Article/pppull_index_html There are more than 800,000 people being trafficked — for sexual exploitation, forced labour, begging — across international borders each year. In June 2006, 19 Malaysian women were rescued from brothels in Britain which involved a multi-million ringgit human trafficking syndicate. The number of trafficked women rescued in Malaysia stood at 371 between 2004 and last year, but this could be the tip of the iceberg. The situation is not alarming. The proposed Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill is our preventive measure. But we recognise that if we don’t control the situation now, Malaysia may become a trafficking hotspot. This is because of it being one of the most economically dynamic countries in the region. Malaysia Reconceptualizes its Assumptions about Human Trafficking Human trafficking is not only
confined to vice activities. Hundreds of foreign workers who are duped by
agents and brought into the country are also victims of human trafficking. The agents would then sell the
workers or outsource them to employers who need them. Last year, MTUC
received 400 complaints of foreign workers here who are being oppressed by
their employers. Rajasekaran
said the numbers could be higher as they believe for every reported case,
there were between 10 and 20 cases that go unreported. "These are
workers who are brought here but left stranded without jobs for months. There
are also cases of workers not being paid for months. They are afraid to go to
the authorities as their travel documents are being held by the employers. US Official Urges mensnewsdaily.com/2006/11/04/us-official-urges-indonesia-to-crack-down-on-human-trafficking/ At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[scroll down]
On Saturday, at a crisis center in Miller says Indonesians are
particularly vulnerable to human traffickers because of the country's
poverty, widespread slavery rings, and lack of law enforcement due to
corruption. www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=102933&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25 The victims, aged 14 to 17, were promised jobs in Jakarta as domestic workers, but were then flown to West Kalimantan province on the Indonesian side of Borneo and taken across the border into Malaysia, sometimes using false travel documents. - htcp Khmer girls' trafficking ordeal news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4599709.stm LOOKING FOR CASH - She and her cousin were 16
years old when they decided, against their family's wishes, to travel to
Bangkok. The New Year was approaching, and they wanted some extra cash for
the festive season. A neighbour had told them they could make good money
washing dishes in a restaurant in the Thai capital. They were smuggled across the border in the
back of a pick-up truck, covered by a tarpaulin. When they finally reached
the capital, they were taken to an apartment. But they soon realised something was wrong. One explained: "A businessman arrived
at our apartment and asked us to open our clothes, because he wanted to look
at our bodies. He asked if I had a husband. That's when I knew we weren't
going to work in a restaurant. "At first I refused to have sex with men. Then I was beaten so badly I had to hide my face for a month, until it healed. Then I was told again I would have to sleep with the customers. I knew if I refused I would be beaten again. I had no choice but to agree." - htcp Asia
Sex Traffic Case UN Hails Stunning Success The prosecution rested on the
testimony of eight Cambodian women, who left their home village believing they
would be offered work as noodle and clothes sellers in Malaysia Detains Officials On Human Trafficking
Allegations www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/132194/1/.html At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Officials were caught because they
were issuing permanent resident identity cards to foreigners," Azmi said. The
newspaper said police had also seized 150 identity cards, including new ones
with hi-tech microchip security features, from foreigners. Report
Reveals Horrors of Foreign Sex-Slaves "We were hired as maids but
on arrival tricked and forced into prostitution. We were held as sex slaves
and forced to service numerous clients," they said. The traffickers who were supposed
to get her and four female friends jobs as dishwashers smuggled them instead
to thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/1/28/nation/10018043&sec=nation Suhakam said often foreign women were
arrested but the “masterminds” or “Johns” were let off easily because of the
absence of an anti-trafficking law. Suhakam
recommends that once there is clear evidence that the women were trafficked,
smuggled or cheated into prostitution, they should be sent back home instead
of being made to languish in prison. Women’s Groups Back New Laws Against Traffickers www.awam.org.my/resources/news/01022005.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
The women, who said they were
drawn to Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 4 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide Human
Rights Watch - Background www.hrw.org/en/node/11993/section/5 hrw.org/reports/2004/indonesia0704/4.htm#_Toc76201455 TRAFFICKING - Trafficking victims in Malaysia
have little hope of receiving protection or aid from the Malaysian authorities,
including services or remedies through the justice system. Despite a
revision of the penal code in Malaysia, trafficking victims are often treated
without distinction from undocumented migrants, meaning they may be detained,
fined, and deported without any access to services or redress. There
are few shelters and services for the victims of trafficking who are
identified, and many are repatriated without pursuing criminal or civil cases
because of the time, expense, and bureaucracy involved. Human Rights Watch - Workplace Abuses in Malaysia www.hrw.org/en/node/11993/section/7 hrw.org/reports/2004/indonesia0704/6.htm#_Toc76201478 HOURS OF WORK,
REST DAYS, AND WORKLOAD - Indonesian domestic workers employed in Malaysia typically work
sixteen to eighteen hour days, seven days a week, without any holidays.
Most have no significant time to rest during the day, although some are able
to take one-hour breaks in the afternoon. Indonesian domestic workers
who cared for children in addition to their cleaning responsibilities
reported being “on call” around the clock, as in the case of Susanti, who told Human Rights Watch. TRAFFICKING INTO FORCED LABOR - I was surprised because I had to do housework
and then make soya bean drink also. The first
employers were cruel…. I had to do my work in a hurry, clean the bed,
clean the furniture, make soya bean drink from 9:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m., then go to the market to sell from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00
p.m. I had no rest day, and when I got home at 11:00 p.m., I had to
clean the clothes and then iron. I slept at 1:00 a.m. Disappearing into the underworld www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/IRC/newsdesk_articles.asp?SCID=1321 THE LINK BETWEEN MISSING PERSONS
AND TRAFFICKING - “In
Malaysia, not only are the laws on trafficking scattered, the statistics are
not uniform. The police have their own figures, while the Immigration
Department has its own data. This polarity only makes the problem worse,” Defrauded
labourers return from Malaysia They supposed to go to work at
construction sites and had their passports taken by their employers. After
nearly 20 days, they found out they not only earned little money, but faced
possible punishment if caught by police, since local laws ban people from
working without a permit in Malaysia. IOM launches
initiative to combat human trafficking In 2002, police recovered 11
infants - the oldest barely 18 months - from a middle-class Karachi suburb where
the kidnappers were making preparations to smuggle the babies to Malaysia for
a reported price tag of US $20,000 each.
Such children, according to social workers and law-enforcement
officials, often end up being sold into prostitution or crime rings; or end
up as camel-jockeys in the Middle East. CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING RAMPANT IN
JAMBI PROVINCE - In Jambi province, there are reports that some 100 children,
aged 12 to 15 years, are being trafficked annually into the sex trade in
various cities, and sometimes in Malaysia and Singapore. Maid abuse
case shocks Malaysia An Indonesian maid has told a
harrowing story of how she was repeatedly burnt with an iron and scalded with
boiling water by her Malaysian employer's wife. The
Elimination of Trafficking in Persons in Indonesia [PDF] VICTIM RETURN AND REPATRIATION - [page 29] A report made by the Task Force of the Coordination Team
for the Return of Indonesian Migrant Workers (TKI) with Problems and Their
Families from Malaysia (Satgas TKPTKIB), indicated
that the policy that nationals of ASEAN countries do not need to apply for
tourist or visit visas when they visit the ASEAN countries has been abused by
irresponsible people who manipulate the facility and use them to send
Indonesian nationals to Malaysia to work there. The absence of the working
visas have caused many of them suffer exploitation in forms of passport
withholding, low wages, illegal confinement, even inhumane treatment. This is
because when their visiting visas have expired, the TKIs
become illegal aliens as they have overstayed, and the status have made them
more vulnerable to exploitation. Girls from China
tricked into forced prostitution in Malaysia An increasing number of naive young
girls from China are being tricked into forced prostitution in Malaysia,
according to a local organisation which is
regularly called to their rescue. They
are lured to Malaysia by the promise of well-paid jobs in factories and
restaurants, says Michael Chong, head of the
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) public service and complaints
department. Syndicates in China place
advertisements in newspapers offering salaries of up to 1,000 dollars a
month, he told AFP. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [Malaysia Street Children in [Malaysia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Malaysia] [other countries]