Thirty-two Sri Lankans stranded in Myanmar rescued

On Nov 25, 2024

Lured into cybercrime operations and became victims of human trafficking
Twenty-eight rescued earlier

Thirty-two Sri Lankans who were victims of human trafficking and stranded in Myanmar were rescued yesterday following a successful, coordinated process, the Foreign Ministry said.

The rescued Sri Lankans had been lured into cybercrime operations and became victims of human trafficking.

The Government of Sri Lanka will coordinate with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for their early repatriation to Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry and Sri Lanka’s Ambassadors in Thailand and Myanmar coordinated the process. Ven. Maligawila Assaji Thera, who represented the families of the trafficked Sri Lankans, also facilitated the process.

Last week, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath directed officials to undertake urgent representations to the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand to support the rescue operation and for Sri Lanka’s Envoys to engage with the respective Governments in this regard.

The 32 Sri Lankans comprising eight females and 24 males were safely brought across the Mae Sot border yesterday (25) and were received by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Thailand. They are now in the Tak Province, Thailand, and their welfare needs are being provided.

The present rescue follows two other processes in April 2024 and August 2024 where a total of 28 Sri Lankans were rescued by the Government of Sri Lanka in coordination with the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand.

The Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry strongly urges those Sri Lankans seeking foreign employment to mandatorily adhere to authorised procedures, so as not to fall victim to human trafficking schemes. They should verify their job opportunities or offers with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) prior to undertaking employment overseas. They should visit the SLBFE website http://www.slbfe.lk or contact the SLBFE hotline 1989 (which is 24-hour call centre) for details.

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