Asia Times Archives

Hong Kong Launches Victim Screening for Domestic Workers

Hong Kong’s Labor Department is planning to screen foreign domestic workers across the city in an effort to catch cases of exploitation early on. The plans were announced by Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung on his official blog. He says this is part of a Hong Kong government initiative to prevent human trafficking and better […]

Kafala System Begins to Crumble in Qatar

Qatar has finally approved new legislation that will allow some migrant workers to leave the country without needing to secure an exit visa and permission from their employer. The move comes as the country begins to dismantle its kafala system, a sponsorship system common across the Gulf states that binds laborers to their employers and […]

Hundreds of Fishermen Still Stuck in Indonesia, Benjina Returnees Say

It has been three years since thousands of trafficked fishermen were found abandoned on Benjina, a remote island in eastern Indonesia. Yet according to two Thailand-based NGOs, the Labour Rights Promotion Network (LPN) and the Thai and Migrant Fishers Union Group (TMFG), hundreds more Thai, Myanmar, Cambodian, and Lao fishermen are still stuck in Indonesia. LPN manager […]

Raped, Forced to Marry, Then Sold to a Brothel

West Bengal has the infamous title of being the state with the highest number of trafficking cases in India. In fact, it accounts for 44% of all human trafficking cases in the entire country. And local corruption is driving the problem. Tabassum (not her real name) was only 14 when she was raped by a […]

Agency Repays Loan after Scamming Domestic Worker

A Hong Kong recruitment agency is now being forced to repay a loan after one of its employees scammed a Filipina domestic worker into taking it out in her name. Emelyn Coronado succeeded in getting the owner of Luckyflex International Ltd. to pay back the loan — along with charges incurred — she took out for agency […]