YANGON: A Myanmar family has issued an urgent public appeal on social media to rescue a young woman who was trafficked to Iraq, severely abused and held for ransom after applying for a domestic worker job in Dubai.
According to her older sister, the victim connected with an employment broker via TikTok and traveled to Dubai on credit without informing her family. Upon arrival, an agent confiscated her passport and transferred her to Iraq.
The victim reported that her employer beat her viciously before returning her to the local agency office, where staff assaulted her further and sent her back to the abusive household.
Despite having previously undergone a cesarean section, she was kicked in the abdomen and struck repeatedly. When her phone was smashed by her captors, she managed to borrow a co-worker’s phone to contact her family.
The overseas agency initially demanded US$3,000 for her release, but after the family paid, the captors escalated their extortion demand to US$8,500.
Meanwhile, the broker in Myanmar, who garnished the victim's wages to repay the travel debt, has refused to take responsibility. Her sister noted that many other Myanmar women are similarly trapped in Iraq under the guise of Dubai domestic placements, and called on the authorities and the public for immediate intervention and legal guidance. - Eleven Media/ANN
