BANGKOK: Twelve foreign women who say they were raped and made pregnant while confined in scam compounds on Myanmar’s border are seeking medical treatment in Thailand.
One of the women suffered a miscarriage on Wednesday (March 19), according to the Civil Society Network for Assisting Human Trafficking Victims (CSNAHTV).
The pregnant women were among 320 mainly Ethiopian nationals allegedly lured by Chinese scam gangs into working for call centre gangs in Karen State’s Taizhang, a notorious scam city over the border from Thailand’s Tak province.
All were rescued by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) after pressure from China for a crackdown on the scam operations.
Over 6,500 foreign nationals have been rounded up in the crackdown and repatriation operation, but concerns have been raised over their condition in crowded DKBA detainment camps.
CSNAHTV coordinator Jay Krittaya sent letters to Tak governor Chucheep Pongchai and Thailand’s National Human Rights Commision, requesting humanitarian care for the pregnant women.
In response, the National Human Rights Commission said it had asked the Foreign Ministry to coordinate with the pregnant women’s embassies or consulates to provide assistance.
The commission has also reportedly asked the National Security Council and Interior and Defence ministries to arrange urgent medical treatment for the women in Thailand if requested. - The Nation/ANN
