Trapped in Laos: Myanmar migrants face hardship, exploitation, and forced sex work
141
Hsu/ Pearl (NP News) - Sep 9
A number of Myanmar women in Laos, having faced employment difficulties, have resorted to working as sex workers, according to information provided to The Statesman by former employees in the country.
Brokers are currently using popular social media platforms like TikTok to recruit workers for agricultural and other business jobs in Laos. These brokers charge a fee of three to five million kyats per person and transport the workers through Tachileik and Wan Pong jetty.
“One has to pay brokers between three and five million kyats to travel from Myanmar to Laos. However, after paying, jobs are often unavailable. In Laos, there are dormitories with hundreds of rooms where people are simply kept, with over 200 to 300 Myanmar nationals residing there. We discovered that recruitment is happening through TikTok across the country. Transportation mainly occurs via Tachileik and Wan Pong jetty. The boat ride from the jetty costs about 500 yuan, or approximately 300,000 kyats. The brokers handle the border crossings themselves. Once across the border, people are picked up in three-wheelers and taken to temporary dormitories, where they are abandoned while the brokers keep the money. Some individuals arrive in stages—first escorted by drivers, then transferred to boat operators, and finally handed over to brokers. Once 3-5 million kyats are paid, the brokers disappear. Very few actually arrange work, and even then there are no guarantees. I have personally experienced this; I just recently returned,” one person who had worked in Laos told The Statesman.
Over 200 Myanmar nationals in Laos are reportedly facing severe hardship due to a lack of jobs and difficulty in basic survival.
Migrants who travel to Laos despite these challenges are often fleeing conflict and economic hardship in their hometowns. Some are also evading Myanmar’s military conscription law.
“Some people came because of insecurity in their regions, while others fled to avoid conscription. Many left due to economic difficulties. There are also other places where Myanmar nationals have gathered, and the population is quite large, including both Bamar and Rakhine people. Honestly, I don’t want more people to come to Laos. Even if they earn only 10,000 or 20,000 kyats a day in Myanmar, that is better. Here, many are starving for lack food and money. The number of Myanmar nationals here could be in the tens of thousands,” the source continued.
Although many Myanmar migrants in Laos are struggling, some are unable to return home and are trying to survive by any means necessary, which has led to some women to be forced into sex work.
“Some managed to return as far as Tachileik where they took on odd jobs to make ends meet. Others survive by building small huts and selling empty bottles of water. Some women have ended up working as sex workers. Their ages vary. The only ones truly benefiting from this situation are the boat operators and brokers, who are closely linked and work together as one,” the source added. –