A Burmese trafficking victim. |
Leaving behind her husband - and hometown of Mandalay -
Khin and her young daughter travelled with her neighbour to the eastern city of
Muse. The next morning she saw him arrange for a temporary passport - which
struck her as strange.
They then drove to the border of China where Khin says a
Chinese man paid her neighbour 20,000 MMK. (AUD 23.50). I ask Khin if she
believes her neighbour intentionally sold her as a bride. "Yes, but I had
no idea at the time," she tells me via a translator over the phone.
According to the International Labour Office, victims of
trafficking are often approached with false offers of a job and are then
redirected into situations of sexual or labour exploitation.