Maung Htay’s long journey has had its ups and downs. He has worked on construction sites and at a timber factory, and was imprisoned as a slave on the high seas.
About six years ago, while working at a construction site in a Thai border town, Maung Htay was arrested by Thai police during a raid cracking down on illegal migrant workers. He was taken from the site and detained.
A Burmese broker, Naing Oo, paid a fine of 3,000 baht (US$85) to the police in exchange for Maung Htay’s release, promising him a good job. Maung Htay was delighted by the offer, but the job never materialized. He quickly realized that his release from jail actually meant he had been sold to a human trafficking gang and was being sent to work as a slave on a fishing boat in Indonesian waters.
Maung Htay is one of thousands of modern-day Burmese who have been held captive and made to work as slaves by traders in the ocean off Thailand and Indonesia.