Vietnam’s envoy in Cambodia says calls for help come day and night from people sold into slavery

The sheer number of people traveling from Vietnam to Cambodia’s Sihanoukville and sold into modern slavery is a major challenge to rescue efforts.
Since the beginning of this year the Vietnamese consulate in Sihanoukville has collaborated with Cambodian authorities to carry out 50-60 searches and rescued over 600 people from forced labor.

Since last year over 800 Vietnamese have been rescued from Preah Sihanouk Province alone. But consul general Vu Ngoc Ly says the actual number of Vietnamese victims of illegal labor gangs in Cambodia is much bigger, and rescue efforts face several challenges.

The biggest is the sheer number of people coming from Vietnam to Cambodia, resulting in large numbers of victims, and every day the consulate receives dozens of requests for rescue, he says.  “Recently calls have been coming day and night and constantly. We don’t dare turn off our phones.” In April the consulate received calls for help from some Vietnamese who said they were being held as forced laborers, he says.

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