Antislavery Usable Past

Cambodia remains a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. Cambodian adults and children migrate to other countries within the region and increasingly to the Middle East for work; many are subjected to forced labour on fishing vessels, in agriculture, in construction, in factories and in domestic servitude—often through debt bondage. Significant numbers of male Cambodians continued to be recruited in Thailand to work on fishing boats and subjected to forced labor on Thai-owned vessels in international waters. Cambodian victims escaping from this form of exploitation have been identified in Malaysia, Indonesia, Mauritius, Fiji, Senegal, South Africa, and Papua New Guinea. Cambodian men reported severe abuses by Thai captains, deceptive recruitment, underpaid wages, and being forced to remain aboard vessels for years. 

In 2010, two brothers Samnang and Sohpeak left their home and country to find work they hoped would help their struggling family. The brothers were deceived and trafficked on to fishing boats where they were forced to work long hours with no rest and subjected to physical abuse.