Hundreds of fishermen raced to be rescued Friday from the isolated Indonesian island where an Associated Press investigation found that many were enslaved to catch seafood that could end up in the United States and elsewhere.
“I will go see my parents,” said Win Win Ko, 42, smiling to reveal a mouth full of missing teeth. “They haven’t heard from me, and I haven’t heard from them since I left.”
He left impoverished
Myanmar four years ago on the promise of getting a good job in neighboring Thailand, but like many others stranded in the island village of Benjina, he was instead duped into getting on a fishing boat that took him thousands of miles from home with no return. He said his four teeth were kicked out by a Thai boat captain’s military boots because he was not moving fish fast enough from the deck to the hold below.
Initially, Indonesian officials told about 20 men from Myanmar, also known as Burma, that they could be moved from Benjina to neighboring Tual island for their safety following interviews with officials on Friday. However, as news spread that some were getting to leave the island, dozens of others started filing in from all over and sitting on the floor. An official was later asked if those hiding in the forest could come as well.
“They can all come,” said Asep Burhanuddin, director general of Indonesia’s Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance. “We don’t want to leave a single person behind.”
Chron – Hundreds of fishermen rescued amid Indonesian slavery probe
By ROBIN McDOWELL and MARGIE MASON, Associated Press | April 3, 2015