A dramatic and highly publicised operation by the Thai, Chinese and Myanmar authorities has led to the release of more than 7,000 people from online scam compounds in Myanmar.
Thailand is working with embassies to coordinate the release and handover of people, but said it can only handle up to 300 people per day.Thousands of young men and women from Asia, Europe and Africa released last month from modern day slavery are now waiting in an indefinite limbo at repurposed scam centres and army camps controlled by armed militia groups.
After survivors of trafficking are freed from scam compounds, they still face a long journey to return to their home country.Gangs running illegal scams have trapped hundreds of thousands of people in locked compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and other places in South-East Asia. As outrage grew in China following the kidnapping of a young actor, Beijing pressured authorities in Thailand and Myanmar to act.
Photos show people squatting in rows, stacked against each other, surgical masks covering some of their eyes and mouths.
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