BENJINA, Indonesia // Hundreds of fishermen raced to be rescued on Friday from the isolated Indonesian island where a news investigation found that many were enslaved to catch seafood that could end up in the United States and elsewhere.
Indonesian officials investigating labour abuses told the migrant workers they were allowing them to leave for another island by boat, out of concern for their safety. More than 300 fishermen emerged from nearby trawlers, villages and even the forest to make the trip.
“I will go see my parents,” said Win Win Ko, 42, smiling to reveal a mouth full of missing teeth. “They haven’t heard from me, and I haven’t heard from them since I left.”
He left impoverished Myanmar four years ago on the promise of getting a good job in neighbouring Thailand. But, like many others stranded in the island village of Benjina, he was instead duped into getting on a fishing boat that took him thousands of miles from home with no return. He said his four teeth were kicked out by a Thai boat captain because he was not moving fish fast enough from the deck to the hold below.
A delegation from the Indonesian fisheries ministry began interviewing fishermen and assessing the situation on Benjina this week. They heard of the same abuses that fishermen told Associated Press journalists about in a story published last week, which documented a company graveyard on the island and eight fishermen locked in a company cage.
The fishermen described being beaten, kicked and whipped with stingray tails and given Taser-like electric shocks. Some said they fell ill and were not given medicine; others said had been promised jobs in Thailand but were instead issued fake seafarer documents and taken to Indonesia, where they were made to work 20 to 22-hour days with no time off for little or zero pay.
Initially on Friday, Indonesian officials had told about 20 men from Myanmar that they could be moved from Benjina to neighbouring Tual island for their safety. However, as news spread that some were getting to leave the island, dozens of other men started filing in from all over the village. An official was later asked if those hiding in the forest could come as well.
“They can all come,” said Asep Burhanuddin, director general of Indonesia’s marine resources and fisheries surveillance. “We don’t want to leave a single person behind.”
The men crowded onto seven trawlers and will be moved to Tual over 24 hours. They will stay at a fisheries ministry compound until their identities can be verified.
Many of those leaving Benjina on Friday were from Myanmar, but a group of 50 Cambodians were also taken away.
About 50 Myanmar fishermen refused to go, however, saying they had not received their salaries and did not want to leave without the money.
Officials from Myanmar will visit the islands next week to look for more men and start the process of sending them home.
Police are now investigating in Benjina and will decide whether to prosecute those involved.
While excitement and relief flooded through many of the fishermen assembled on the dock, some carrying suitcases or small rucksacks, others looked scared and unsure of what to expect next.
“I’m really happy, but I’m confused,” said Nay Hla Win, 32. “I don’t know what my future is in Myanmar.”
* Associated Press