Phnom Penh, 11 April 2013 – ADHOC organized a Press Conference on
the Issue of Trafficking and Migration during the 1st quarter of 2013
Purposes of the Press Conference:
1. Make public the data ADHOC gathered on the consequences of undocumented migration and the challenges of Cambodian migrant workers during the first quarter of 2013;
2. Provide a chance for the repatriated undocumented workers to share their experience working abroad and to raise concerns and suggestions to the government and relevant institutions; and
3. Provide an update on the situation of migrant workers and trafficking during the first three months of 2013 and recommendations to the Cambodian government.
Mr. Thun Saray, President of ADHOC, mentioned the general issues of migrant workers and trafficking during the first quarter of 2013.
The Cambodian migrant workers who were sent from Thailand to Mauritius as Fishery workers:
During the Press Conference this morning at ADHOC’s central office:
Summary of the human trafficking case handled by ADHOC:
On 12 January 2013, ADHOC received a phone call from Mr. Koy Savy, 33, a fisherman who had been working in Mauritius. Koy Savy’s home is located in Chheuteal Chrum village, Chalat commune, Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province.
Savy had left for Thailand with fellow villagers across the Poi Pet border on 8 April 2010. When he arrived in Thailand, he was sent to work on a Thai boat. It took them 23 days to reach their destination. There were 27 persons on the boat, including 23 Cambodian workers and 4 Thai nationals. Savy and 22 Cambodian workers worked on the boat under the direction of a Thai boss for almost three years, without getting any wage and without having any contact with his relatives in Cambodia.
He worked on the sea, but he and his fellow workers did not know where they were. On 14 January 2013, ADHOC staff in Oddar Meanchey received a complaint from the victims’ families. ADHOC’s central office sent an intervention letter to the department of Legislation and Consul of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on 15 January.
With the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) located the 22 victims, who were repatriated to Cambodia in two groups, on 9 April and 11 April 2013 respectively.
11 Cambodian migrant workers are welcomed by ADHOC staff as they arrive at the Phnom Penh Airport.
