The journey to repatriate hundreds of Vietnamese deported from Myanmar

Mr. Luong Thanh Quang, Deputy Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam

Mr. Luong Thanh Quang, Deputy Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, said on May 17 that during a raid on online gambling establishments in Myawaddy town, Myanmar - Thailand border in March, Myanmar authorities and Thai police and related countries discovered tens of thousands of foreigners residing illegally who were carrying out illegal activities such as online fraud, forced labor, human trafficking...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security coordinated to verify the identities of Vietnamese people deported by Myanmar, preliminarily identifying 681 citizens from 56 provinces and cities nationwide, including large urban areas - where warnings about "easy work, high salary" scams were regularly propagated and disseminated in the press.

Myanmar affirmed that these were people who violated the law (illegal immigration, overstaying or participating in criminal activities) and requested Vietnam to accept them back to their country.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has discussed with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, localities and agencies that all said there is no basis to determine that the Vietnamese citizens deported by Myanmar are victims of human trafficking," said Mr. Quang.

"Due to the complicated security situation in Myanmar, moving from the ancient capital Yangon (where the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar is located) to Myawaddy town is not feasible, posing many challenges to the campaign to bring citizens home," he noted.

According to the Deputy Director of the Consular Department, the final option chosen was to bring citizens from Myanmar to enter Thailand, take a bus from Mea Sot town to the capital Bangkok, travel nearly 500 km to the airport in Bangkok and board a plane back home, the total travel time to Vietnam is nearly 20 hours.

"During the entire journey, security forces will monitor to ensure that citizens do not escape, stay illegally in Thailand, or cause trouble or disorder, and ensure the safety of the entire group," Mr. Quang emphasized.

According to regulations on the use of the Fund for Protection of Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities Abroad, Vietnamese citizens are only paid by the State budget for the cost of returning home due to war or being victims of human trafficking (identified as victims by competent authorities). In cases where citizens violate the law abroad and are deported, they will have to pay for the cost of returning home themselves.

"In case a citizen is tricked into working in Myanmar, after returning home, he/she can contact the local police to report it. After the investigation, if he/she is determined to be a victim of human trafficking, the citizen will receive appropriate financial support mechanisms," said Mr. Quang.

People are taken out of a fraud center in Myawaddy, Myanmar earlier this year.

The estimated cost for repatriation of each citizen is 12.2 million VND. The Fund for Protection of Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities Abroad has notified the localities where the citizens live in the country to request the citizens and their families to pay advance payments to the fund. After the citizens return to the country, the representative agencies will send invoices to the Fund for settlement and notify each individual to return the excess money or pay more if the actual cost is higher than the advance payment.

According to Mr. Quang, Vietnam has repatriated 471 citizens in 8 days, from April 28 to May 14, and continues to deploy to bring all citizens in Myawaddy back to the country as soon as possible.

"For the safety of Vietnamese citizens when traveling abroad, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that people be vigilant against invitations and enticements to work abroad with unclear job content, no labor contract, not through a legally operating labor dispatch company, no insurance..., which can cause people to become victims of forced labor, fraud or even human trafficking crimes," said Mr. Quang.

In case of need of assistance, citizens can contact the Citizen Protection Hotline +84 91 84 84 84 or the nearest Vietnamese representative agency.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/hanh-trinh-hoi-huong-hang-tram-nguoi-viet-bi-myanmar-truc-xuat-411781.html