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Trafficked Maids Rescued
12 young women with unimaginable accounts of abuse, betrayal, and imprisonment, arrived at Hagar Cambodia’s Recovery Shelter two weeks ago. Some arrived so weak they were unable to walk. Traumatized, many are unable to speak, while others can't stop crying.
Months ago, they were recruited to work in Malasyia with the promise of high salaries ($200 a month). When they arrived, they discovered they’d been trafficked. Stripped of their legal documents and forced to work long, grueling hours without pay, they were trapped.
“I had no rights. They considered me as a slave,” recounts one young woman.
Eventually imprisoned as undocumented immigrants, they were rescued by the International Organization for Migration and International Red Cross and returned to Cambodia.
Now at Hagar’s Women’s Shelter in Cambodia, counselors are assessing their cases and locating their families. Hagar staff are arranging home visits for 7 girls, ages 14 to 27, this week. The young women are eager to see their families. Some were trapped in Malaysia for nearly two years.
The long road to recovery is just beginning for these young women. In the coming weeks and months, Hagar is committed to providing loving care to make them feel whole again.
Read "Returning Maids Have Horrific Tale" in the Phnom Penh Post.
Donate now to help these girls and others like them.
