Thousands of sick, exhausted and terrified young men and women from countries around the world in blunders in rows, packed shoulder shoulder, surgical masks that cover their mouths and, some, their eyes.
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) – A dramatic and very publicized operation of Thai, Chinese and Myanmar authorities has led to The launch of more than 7,000 people of online scam compounds in Myanmar.
But what they thought was the end of their terrible experience was the beginning of another nightmare. Thousands of young men and women from Asia, Europe and Africa released from modern slavery are now waiting in an indefinite limbo in the reused fraud centers and the army camps controlled by groups of armed militias as the first important global effort to take energetic measures against the rapid growth industry of the scam is becoming a growing humanitarian crisis.
– Gangs that run illegal scams have caught hundreds of thousands of people in closed compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and other places in Southeast Asia. The people who have managed to leave say that they were initially attracted to Thailand with promises of lucrative jobs, only to be locked in buildings where they describe that they are forced to sit on computers up to 16 hours a day executing scams. Refusing work could bring purses, hunger and electrical discharges.
– Scams deceive people around the world to send their life savings to fictional romantic partners or investment opportunities, with the United Nations Office on drugs and crimes that estimate that between $ 18 billion and $ 37 billion were lost alone in Asia in 2023.
– As the outrage grew in China after The kidnapping of a young actorBeijing pressed the authorities in Thailand and Myanmar to act. The Thai government cut power and electricity, and armed groups aligned by the government that control the areas near the Myanmar border with Thailand released some 7,000 people from the scam centers.
– But more than a month after repression began, thousands of people are still detained in Myanmar, maintained in crowded and antihylic conditions by the armed groups that organized their release.
– The Associated Press obtained exclusive photos of people in blunders in rows, stacked from each other, surgical masks that cover some of their eyes and mouths. In calls clandestine, survivors say they fear for their lives, since the disease is rampant and conditions are insecure.
– Sleep in floors in army camps or old compounds of fraud guarded by groups of armed militias. They are crowded in facilities not intended for numbers. In an army camp, 800 people share 10 bathrooms, said a survivor.
– Getting home depends on the resources available by country. China sent a chartered flight on Thursday to small Mae Sot airport to pick up its citizens, but few other governments have matched it. There are approximately 130 Ethiopians waiting at a Thai military base, trapped for lack of a $ 600 plane ticket.
– His difficult situation has worried about the United States Department of State and the demands of their liberation from international human rights organizations, but Thai officials did not allow people to cross the border until their countries of origin are so that they leave immediately. There are a handful of defense groups that operate at the border helping.
– Thailand is working with embassies to coordinate the release and delivery of people, but said it can only handle up to 300 people per day, below 500 initially.
– Defenders say that eliminating thousands of people from scam compounds will not stop efforts to illegally steal the savings of the lives of Americans and others. No boss has been arrested.
-The compounds have resources to deal with internet and electricity cuts, which are executed with fuel generators and use satellite Internet service provided by Elon Musk Starlink.
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Associated Press is investigating cyber scams. If you or someone you know is being or has been retained and forced to cheat others, here are the ways to get in touch with us. AP Global Research Team: Researcher@ap.org.
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Mendoza reported for Frontline (PBS).
