OPINION: Trapped in a digital nightmare: The human trafficking crisis in Myanmar

Imagine receiving a phone call from someone you love, their voice brimming with excitement about a dream job abroad. You share their hope, their pride, their vision of a brighter future.

Then comes the gut-wrenching truth: it was a scam. Instead, they’ve been ensnared by human traffickers, forced into cybercrime in a foreign land, tortured, with no hope of escape. This is the reality for thousands, including Kenyans, caught in a sinister new form of human trafficking: forced criminality.

In Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar, civil unrest and unstable governance have created a void that criminal networks exploit ruthlessly. The United Nations estimates that over 50,000 people from more than 40 countries are trapped in this nightmare, coerced into running online scams like cryptocurrency fraud and identity theft. This global epidemic hits close to home, with Kenyans among the victims.

Traffickers dangle job offers abroad, promising a way out of hardship, targeting young job seekers full of dreams. The victims are our friends, neighbours, or relatives. But once they arrive—often routed through transit hubs like Bangkok or the Thai-Myanmar border—the truth unfolds.

They’re confined in heavily guarded compounds, forced to scam strangers online for hours under threat of violence. Refusal brings brutal consequences: beatings, torture, starvation, even death. These aren’t willing criminals; they’re victims—manipulated and terrified, with no escape.

The digital age, for all its benefits, has armed traffickers with a powerful tool. The internet that connects us to opportunities is weaponized to exploit the desperate. The UNODC identifies Southeast Asia as a trafficking hub, where deception traps vulnerable populations, especially those displaced or unprotected.

Collapsed law enforcement amid Myanmar’s civil war allows criminals to operate unchecked, ensnaring lives in cycles of fear and coercion.

Since 2010, Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART) Kenya has fought human trafficking. By April 2025, HAART, in partnership with the Kenyan Embassy in Thailand, government agencies, and Kenya Airways, had brought 153 Kenyans home from Myanmar’s scam centres.

Each rescue is a victory against a shadowy system preying on the vulnerable. Survivors’ stories are heartbreaking. They tell tales of torture, including electrocution, confinement, and being denied food for failing to meet traffickers’ demands. One survivor shared, “I am so grateful to be back home, despite returning with nothing but scars.”

This crisis is personal. It’s the young woman from your neighbourhood dreaming of supporting her family, or the recent graduate believing they have found their big break. When survivors return, they carry trauma and face stigma from communities that may not understand their ordeal.

The fight begins with awareness. Organizations such as HAART Kenya can’t do it alone. International partnerships are vital to dismantling these cross-border networks. Governments, agencies, and everyday people must unite to raise awareness and prevent more from falling prey to human traffickers.

Verify job offers with the National Employment Authority at 0114757002 or kazimajuu@diaspora.go.ke. If you or a loved one is trafficked, contact HAART’s helpline at +254 780 211 113 or visit https://haartkenya.org/how-to-migrate-safely/ for safe migration tips.

Let’s commit to a world free from trafficking in persons.

The author, Winnie Mutevu, is the Advocacy and Partnerships Development Manager at Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART) Kenya, a Nairobi-based NGO dedicated to fighting human trafficking in Eastern Africa.