Eight Cambodian men back home after two years of fishing 'slavery'

The eight Cambodian men who were repatriated back from Malaysia (Photo: Licadho)

Mon, 17 May 2010
DPA

A recent conference in Phnom Penh was told that poverty and a lack of job opportunities in rural areas were driving Cambodian men into uncertain work opportunities in neighbouring countries.

Phnom Penh - Eight Cambodian men have been repatriated from Malaysia after spending up to two years working in slave-like conditions on Thai fishing vessels, local media reported Monday.

The men told human rights workers they were promised well-paid jobs in Thailand, but once there were forced onto fishing boats.

They said they were required to work for no pay, and eventually managed to jump ship when their boats docked in Malaysia for repairs.

Cham Mab, who left Cambodia in 2007, said he had witnessed men who were ill being thrown overboard.

"We tried to work even when we were sick, because we were afraid that if we did not work then they would throw us into the sea," he told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

Manfred Hornung, a legal adviser at human rights group Licadho, which was involved in the repatriation, said four of the men had escaped from the same boat.

He said the returnees had given Licadho the names of other Cambodian men they met who had been detained by authorities in neighbouring countries.

"They want organisations and government authorities to help these other Cambodians since they have had such a gruesome experience," he said. "They want to make sure their fellow nationals are able to come home."

A recent conference in Phnom Penh was told that poverty and a lack of job opportunities in rural areas were driving Cambodian men into uncertain work opportunities in neighbouring countries.