Three Arakan women trafficked to Iraq rescued, awaiting return to Myanmar

By Admin 05 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
5 October 2023, Sittwe

The Myanmar regime is arranging to bring back three Arakan State women who were trafficked to Iraq, according to volunteers facilitating their return.

Four women — Ma Honey Tun, 22, and Ma Myat Aye San, 26, from Sittwe, Ma Than Nwe Htay, 25, from Mrauk-U, and Ma Wai Wai Hlaing, 22, from Rathedaung Township, were trafficked in May after they were lured by jobs in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ma Honey Tun, Ma Myat Aye San and Ma Than Nwe Htay ultimately found themselves in Iraq. They have since been rescued by the Iraqi government, which is collaborating with the Myanmar regime to send them back to Myanmar, according to lawyer Daw Wyne Thuzar from the Arakan National Network, who is helping the trafficked victims.

“The three are now being kept in an Iraqi government camp. Their passports were seized when they were trafficked, and necessary documents are now being made for their return. We don’t know when they will be sent back,” she told DMG.

Ma Wai Wai Hlaing, meanwhile, was reportedly sold to work as a domestic helper in Dubai, and volunteers have sought help from the Myanmar Consulate General in Dubai to get protection for her in conjunction with Dubai authorities, said Daw Wyne Thuzar.

“There is an International Organization for Migration [office] in Dubai. There is only the Myanmar Consulate General there. The consulate general has contacted IOM for her rescue,” she added.

Driven by poverty, many people in Arakan State seek jobs in regional neighbours such as Thailand, Malaysia and China. But they are also often lured by high-paying jobs in Middle Eastern countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Oman, and many end up being trafficked.

Ma Honey Tun, Ma Myat Aye San and Ma Than Nwe Htay have said that they were starved, mistreated and exploited in Iraq.

“As more women are working overseas, there has been an increase in human trafficking. Victims should contact the relevant organisations when they are trafficked,” said women’s rights activist Daw Phyu Phyu Than from Sittwe.