Figures issued by Myanmar’s anti-human trafficking task force for the first nine months of this year indicate the cross-border slave trade remains a problem for Myanmar.
Fifty-nine people fell victim to human traffickers in trade to China, 13 to Thailand and two to Malaysia, and a further 11 people in Myanmar from January to September 2014, Police Captain Min Naing of the Anti-Human Trafficking Corps told Mizzima October 15.
According to the statistics just released of the anti-trafficking unit, a branch of the Myanmar Police Force, out of these victims a total of 58 Myanmar women were forced to marry with foreigners, 16 people became forced labourers and 11 women were trafficked into prostitution.
In September, seven cases of trafficking in persons took place in Shan State, two cases each in the Sagaing and Bago regions and one case each in the Taninthayi and Magway regions.
From January to September, police and officials were able to rescue 125 human trafficking victims. There remain 17 men and 34 women who are victims in the hands of human traffickers, the police captain said, referring to the cases registered with the police.
Myanmar continues to founder due to the large number of workers illegally trafficked and problems with Myanmar women offered in forced marriage in China, Thailand and other neighbouring countries, according to the report of Myanmar’s anti-human trafficking five-year plan issued in June 2014.
According to media reports, human trafficking remains a thriving trade in the region with clear figures of the number of people sold into slavery hard to come by.
