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By Rubatheesan Sandran
(UCAN) In June 2022, Wasantha* came across an advert for a job in a newspaper that he thought would help his family escape the nightmarish hardship caused by Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis.
An information technology (IT) professional, the 26-year-old did not think twice before signing up for the job as a software engineer for a startup company in Thailand for a monthly salary of US$2,500 and other incentives.
“I thought I could support my family of three siblings and ailing parents, which I was failing to do because of high inflation,” he told UCA News.
The eldest son of a peasant family, Wasantha studied and obtained an IT degree before joining a local firm and earning a monthly salary of 42,000 rupees (US$140).
Like millions of Sri Lankan families, his family found itself in dire straits due to jaw-dropping inflation in the Indian Ocean island nation triggered by the Central Bank’s decision in March 2022 to devalue the local currency against the US dollar by 15 percent.
At that time, Wasantha’s family needed 120,000 rupees to cover monthly expenses, three times more than he could earn.
The family had no other source of income except his monthly salary, so Wasantha thought the job in Thailand was a godsend.
He soon contacted the agent through the phone number in the job advert. The agent asked him to deposit 800,000 rupees for paperwork and transport fees.
“I had to pawn some of my mother's jewelry, given to her by my grandmother, to pay this amount. I wanted to ensure I secured a place since the agent said there was huge demand for the job. I am still struggling to recover the payment,” he said.
He made the payments in cash installments by the end of June 2022.
Wasantha had no idea he was stepping into a trap set up by a Chinese-run transnational network of human traffickers.
Within months, Wasantha, along with four other Sri Lankans, was “sold” to a group running a cyber scam complex in Myawaddy, a Myanmar town just across the border from Thailand.
From Colombo, Wasantha and the others were first taken to Dubai and then to Thailand in December 2022. They then took a long trip by van and boat to Myawaddy.
“Hours later, we were placed in a tiny room in a complex guarded by armed men,” he said.
Soon, they learned there were already 50 Sri Lankans among hundreds of people from other Asian nations, including Nepal and Pakistan. They also heard horrific stories of torture by Chinese nationals running the facility.
Wasantha’s dream was shattered, but it was just the beginning of the ordeal for him and others in the group.
At first, their mobile phones and passports were taken away.
Following a brief orientation, they were ordered to create fake identities in cyberspace and on social media platforms and chat as females to lure users by ultimately convincing them to buy crypto schemes or blockchains operated by scammers.
Their employer had daily quotas for workers like Wasantha. He forced them to engage in cyber romance scams.
Refusal to follow orders and failure to fulfill daily quotas would invite abuse and torture, including physical assaults.
"If we refused to obey their orders, they used to beat us, handcuff us, and put us in a solitary dark room for hours without food as punishment. We had to squat several times in the office for committing minor offenses,” he said.
“Sometimes, they used electric shocks too, for those who resisted their orders,” he added.
Wasantha was allowed to speak with family members briefly once a week at a specific time.
He could not send a single penny to his family in Sri Lanka. The group running the scam center told him an amount would be sent to his family once every three months through their local agents in Colombo. It never happened.
His contract expired after one year, and he was sold to another “company” for US$8,000 and relocated to another site.
“Chinese people were involved in all these activities. They repeatedly lied and moved us. We had to work for 15-17 hours a day — being active online,” he said.
"They told us that we could only leave if we paid $8,000," he added.
The plight of people forcibly held in scam centers in various places in the Thai-Myanmar border zone grabbed global attention recently thanks to efforts by anti-trafficking campaigners.
It prompted a crackdown on scam compounds and the rescue of trafficking victims with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Wasantha and seven other Sri Lankan nationals returned home through government intervention in April.
He sought psychological assistance and medication to overcome physical and mental anguish due to months of living in slave-like conditions.
In April, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Myanmar Janaka Bandara confirmed that at least 56 Sri Lankan nationals were trapped in scam centers run by Chinese cybercrime rings. He said diplomatic efforts were underway to secure the release of all the captives.
In June, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya visited Myanmar and Thailand, where he attended high-level diplomatic meetings with their foreign ministers and various parties, including the governors of the provinces.
Balasuriya disclosed that some Sri Lankans were voluntarily working in the region.
"In Myanmar, most of the Sri Lankans are held against their will, but some of them are working voluntarily. Some of them want to come back so we are working with them," Balasuriya told the media after returning to Sri Lanka.
On July 10, relatives of Sri Lankan IT workers still trapped in Myanmar cyber scam complexes staged a protest near the parliament in Colombo, demanding authorities take immediate steps to repatriate their loved ones.
Premadasa reportedly told them that a three-member opposition MP delegation had visited Thailand recently to study the issue.
He also raised the issue in parliament that day, urging the government to secure their speedy release through diplomatic channels.
According to government sources, at least 32 Sri Lankans were repatriated through diplomatic channels via Thailand and Myanmar between October 2022 and October 2023.
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, during a press briefing in June, urged Sri Lankans who wish to work in other countries to register with the Foreign Employment Bureau to ensure safe migration and the protection of their labor rights.
Despite the risks, many Sri Lankans continue to migrate abroad for employment and a better future.
As a result, the number of incidents involving fake recruiting agencies and scammers promising attractive work is still rising.
The Foreign Employment Bureau received 2,155 complaints about scams involving 11 fake recruiting agencies this year alone. At least 65 people allegedly involved in the scams have been arrested.
In his hometown of Biyagama, in Gampaha of Western Province, Wasantha wants to forget that dark period.
“After I recover, I will apply for jobs to have a normal life again,” he said.
*Name changed to protect identity. (Source-UCAN)
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