KUALA LUMPUR: “How long do I have to live in this hell?” Radha (not her real name), who has been detained and locked up by an international job scam syndicate 1,600km from home, cried out in a phone call.
The single mother has not seen her two children since November last year, when armed kidnappers transported her from a Thai airport to Myawaddy, a town on the western border of Myanmar.
Radha had gone to Thailand after accepting a job offer from an agent, in hopes that it would help her support her ageing mother and her two children.
But little did she know a barrel of a gun was waiting for her the moment she boarded a car after leaving the airport.
Her passport was confiscated and she was forced to become a scammer, cheating others of their money. When she is unable to meet her target, she will be beaten.
“They lied to me. Everyday I think of my children,” she said.
A kind samaritan helped her to obtain a handphone so she could contact the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO).
“I don’t know what else to do. I feel like dying. They don’t let me sleep and I don’t have enough to eat.
“I’m begging the Malaysian government (to help me). I have not lodged a report because my phone and passport were confiscated,” she sobbed.
Beside the recording of Radha recounting her experience, FMT obtained footage of her and others being smuggled through rat lanes.
MHO secretary-general Hishammudin Hashim said they received distressed calls from victims such as Radha on a daily basis.
“Everyday I receive calls like this from victims, but I have no power,” the activist said.
He said MHO is limited in its capacity to help, adding that Malaysia should seek assistance from an influential nation to put pressure on the Myanmar authorities.
Despite western sanctions, Myanmar has close ties with China, who supplies it with arms, loans and investment. Myawaddy’s position as the second largest trading post for Myanmar also makes Thailand an important trading partner.
Hishammudin said Myanmar will most likely cooperate if China and Thailand put pressure on it.
“It is time for Malaysia to negotiate with China to put pressure on Myanmar. If Thailand does the same, they will be afraid of having an issue with them,” he said.
India also has active ties, including security cooperation, with Myanmar.
“A report from three or four months ago shows that more than 100 Indian nationals who were detained in Myawaddy were returned home to Tamil Nadu. Are they only afraid of India but not Malaysia?” Hishammudin asked.
He also suggested that a fund be made available to the Malaysian embassy in Myanmar to rescue and repatriate Malaysians.
“Those who have been rescued are left with nothing but the clothes on their back. They will be stranded at the immigration department and fined for overstaying despite the fact that they were locked up by the syndicates.
“They need money to buy flight tickets which can cost more than RM1,000. Our embassy there does not have the funds, they only prepare the documents required for the victims to go home,” he said. - FMT
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