Thai fishermen return home after being held in slave-like conditions off the coast of Indonesia. The 68 stranded fishermen that fled have now returned home to Thailand and arrived at Don Mueang airport thanks to the assistance of Thailand’s Air Force.

Stranded on Ambon Island after going into hiding, the air force sent a C130 to bring the fishermen back to the country.

Many of the fishermen have been away from the country for years. Oftentimes, these fishermen left home in hopes of finding steady work in the fishing industry. The conditions reported border slavery, with many fishermen being denied sleep for as long as a week.

Upon arrival at the airport, government officials conducted full medical check-ups on all fishermen. Once cleared, these fishermen were assisted by officials who helped them return home.

Officials plan to work closely with the fishermen to provide them with assistance and ensure that they never fall back into human trafficking.

There are still questions left unanswered by authorities at this time. Many fishermen want to see captains of these “slave” boats prosecuted and charged for their crimes.

New reports are surfacing that over 550 slave fishermen were found off of an island in Indonesia.

-- 2015-04-11

One more time, it's not mentioned clearly that the captains are Thais. The Cambodian fishermen rescued at the same time in the same place from the same boats tell clearly that the human traffickers are THAIS not Indonesians.

Obviously, reading the article, Thai authorities have NO intention to pursue the captains and we know why.

Edited April 12, 201511 yr by EnzoRippo

thanks to the assistance of Thailand’s Air Force

Should be thanks to the US and other countries who have told Thailand to wake up

Let's hope a Rohingya didn't sneak in with them or they'll be sold back to fishing fleet.

Thailand should first punish their own fishing boat captains, who kept ppl from Myanmar an Cambodia as slaves.

Where exactly did they manage to land a C130 aircraft that was used to supposedly pick up these guys???