Laurel’s Story
Indonesia
When Laurel’s boss rejected her request for time off work to visit a sick relative, her world began to crumble.
After three months in the new office, she could no longer see past the red flags: the job ad she saw online was bait, the compound where she worked and slept was a trap, and her fate now lay in the hands of a Chinese crime gang who had stolen her freedom and put a price on it.
That price was $2,000, in case she was willing to buy it back.
This is a firsthand account from the survivor who wanted their story told.
Read by Cath Murphy | Soundscape by Lynne Pearson
An Indonesian university graduate in her late 20s, Laurel embarked on a new life after landing a digital marketing job at an e-commerce start-up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The position promised flights, housing, meals, visas and work permits, on top of a decent salary. But after a series of deceitful twists in the recruitment process, she had somehow become a small cog in the global cyber-scamming epidemic, trapped in a lawless border-town compound, fishing for victims online under the threat of violence for disobedience or poor performance.
“This job has taken away my freedom, hired me based on deception and lies, held me against my will and ruined my personal relationships,” she said.
Shocked to find a limit on her freedom and told she was not allowed to resign, Laurel soon discovered how the attractive job perks were now part of the trap that ensnared her. The price of the flights, visas and work permits had been tallied up by her Chinese bosses, along with arbitrary food and accommodation costs and unexplained transfer and recruitment fees. The total, known as a ‘fine,’ was her ransom. Her passport, surrendered to HR during onboarding, was held hostage.
“It’s the same as a prison,” she said. “And I was working in a Ponzi scheme, cheating people.”
As the months wore on, Laurel decided that escape was impossible and began with a new strategy: she had identified one particular supervisor whom she felt had a soft side that might be sympathetic to her plight. By May – five months after she left Indonesia for her new life in Phnom Penh – she had convinced the supervisor to help her escape, leaving her passport behind.
Laurel is one of an estimated tens of thousands of people held against their will in cyber-scamming centres across Southeast Asia, many of them young, educated professionals who applied for jobs in IT, communications or media only to find themselves as tools of a global criminal enterprise. As was the case with Laurel, many only realise they’ve been trafficked when they attempt to leave.
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Slavery turns HOPE to HORROR
Slavery should not exist. But trafficking, slavery and exploitation can begin so subtle that they are near impossible to detect. Modern slavery is often disguised and many victims do not even realise they are trapped until they attempt to leave.
That's why we need your help advocating for people like Laurel. Your support in advocating, calling businesses to account, working with government to create better legislation and policies, and changing the way we shop can help make these scams.
Thank you for being a part of fighting this exploitation, and helping keep people like Laurel free from slavery.