They were forced to cheat others worldwide. Now thousands are arrested on the border of Myanmar

Mae Sot, Thailand – thousands of sick, exhausted and terrified young men and women from countries around the world in rows, packaged in the shoulder, the surgical masks that cover their mouths and eyes.

His nightmare was supposed to finish.

Last month, a dramatic and very public operation of the Thai, Chinese and Myanmar authorities led to The launch of more than 7,000 people of closed compounds in Myanmar, where they were forced to deceive Americans and others of their life savings. But survivors have been trapped once again, this time in overpopulated facilities without medical attention, limited foods and without having an idea of ​​when they will be sent home.

A young man from India said about 800 people were arrested in the same installation as him, sharing 10 dirty bathrooms. He said many of the people were feverish and cough. Like all the former enslaved scammers who spoke with Associated Press, spoke about anonymity for concern for their safety.

“If we die here with health problems, who is responsible for that?” asked.

The armed groups that support the survivors, as well as the Thai officials of the border, say they are waiting for the action of the governments of origin of the detainees.

It is one of the greatest potential bailouts of forced workers in modern history, but defenders say that the first important effort to take energetic measures against cyber industry has become a growing humanitarian crisis.

The released people are just a small fraction of what could be 300,000 people who work in similar scam operations throughout the region, according to an estimate of the United States Peace Institute. Human rights groups and analysts add that the networks that execute these illegal scams will continue to operate unless much broader measures are taken against them.

The trapped people, some of which are highly educated and fluently fluently fluently, were initially attracted to Thailand with promises of lucrative office work, 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.

“Your passport is confiscated, you can’t leave and everything is like hell, a living hell,” said a Pakistani man trapped to Associated Press.

Cybernetic scams extend from compounds have flourished during pandemic, addressing people around the world. The United Nations drug and crimes office estimates that between $ 18 billion and $ 37 billion were lost alone in Asia in 2023, with minimal government measures against the propagation of the criminal industry.

Beijing began to push the governments of the region to take energetic measures this year later A young Chinese actor was trafficked to Myanmar For people who promised him an interim job in Thailand. His girlfriend headed a viral social networks campaign that led to his release.

After that rescue, a senior Chinese government official visited Thailand and Myanmar demanding the end of the scams. In response, Thailand cuts the supply of electricity, internet and gas to five border cities in Myanmar.

Shortly after, the groups of the ethnic militia that govern this part of Myanmar, the force of the Kayin border guard and the Kayin democratic army, asked some of the trapped scammers if they wanted to leave, and then escorted them from their compounds.

As the number of people released became thousands, the previously enslaved scammers were trapped in an indefinite detention just through a narrow and slow river width of freedom.

The majority are carried out in Army camps controlled by the force of the Kayin border guard, or reused scam compounds, where many have been since the beginning of February.

For weeks, men and women have shared unhealthy conditions, sleeping on the floor and eating what their captors provide. At one point, the border guard’s strength said that more than 7,000 people were crowded in these facilities, since China began transporting citizens through the border for flights.

The exclusive photos obtained by AP underline the despair of the detainees: surgical masks, often two per face, cover their eyes, noses and mouths while snuggling under the attentive attentive of the armed guards.

“He felt like a blessing that we left that trap, but the real thing is that each person only wants to return home,” said another Indian man, 24 years old, speaking gently on a smuggling phone from the inside of an improvised detention center. He asked not to publish his name for concern for their safety and because the militias that kept them had confiscated their phones.

Last week, the fights broke out among Chinese citizens waiting to go home and the security forces that watched them, two detainees said to the AP.