She thought it was the start of a good life for herself and her family.
In 2009, 15-year-old Mai from Laos was approached by a labour broker to work as a housemaid in Bangkok, for a promised salary too good to refuse.
“The broker said I will get 3,000 baht for the job. All I wanted was to earn income, help my family and be able to save money for my education,” says Mai. Her family raised 10,000 baht ($300) as recruitment fee and she crossed the border into Thailand to start her new life.
Mai worked in the five-storey residence of a Thai family, doing housework, cleaning and mopping, and feeding the dogs. She was never paid a cent of the promised salary.
With her were two more Lao girls sharing jobs assigned by their employer. “I cried everyday for one year. I was homesick and scared,” Mai says.
“We were treated like prisoners and were not allowed to go anywhere. We worked all day. We were even beaten at times if we committed mistakes.”
Unfortunately, Mai’s story is familiar. Thailand is the destination for the vast majority of Lao migrants, who leave their villages to seek a better life and higher wages. People living in remote areas of Laos lack awareness about the dangers of trafficking, and thus are more vulnerable.
According to the International Labour Organisation, approximately half* of the migrant children who entered Thailand in 2003 from neighbouring Lao PDR provinces of Savannakhet, Champassak and Kahmmuane lost contact with their families, indicating that they may have encountered human traffickers.
When Mai’s employer forgot to lock the building door one day, she grabbed the chance to escape and took the two other girls to a police station.
With the help of World Vision’s project, the Mekong Delta Regional Trafficking Strategy (MDRTS), Mai was eventually reunited with her family in Laos. She was taught skills in how to make bags at a local weaving shop that has provided opportunities to other survivors of trafficking.
World Vision’s Child Rescue program helps fund MDRTS and similar projects in order to rehabilitate survivors of exploitation and trafficking and educate vulnerable children on their rights and how to avoid potentially exploitative situations.
“I want to learn new skills so I can move on,” Mai says. “I love making bags and would love to learn more!”
* ‘Lao PDR Migration Survey’ (2003), International Labour Organisation, supported by the ILO-TICW project