Brokers typically earn $3,000 to $4,000 for each trafficked woman. Multiple Myanmar women, who went to China to find work but ended up being forced to marry Chinese men, told the Nikkei Asian Review what they experienced beyond the border. Myanmar and China’s Bride Trafficking Problem IPS 22.03.2019 Tharanga Yakupitiyage Translated by: Jpic-jp.org In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented numerous cases of women and girls from Myanmar’s Kachin and northern Shan States who were trafficked and forced into sexual slavery in China, as well as the alarming lack of law enforcement on the issue. She was rescued in 2017 and is taking part in a UN Women-supported trafficking prevention programme. Bride trafficking in Pakistan earned international attention last year when Pakistani authorities compiled a list of 629 Pakistani women and girls sold as … She narrowly escaped being duped into becoming a surrogate mother. Report: Myanmar, China failing to stop 'bride' trafficking FILE - In this March 21, 2018, file photo, Marip Lu sits in her family's shelter in a refugee camp in northern Kachin State, Myanmar. Women are trafficked not only to become wives, but also to be used as surrogate mothers to give children to Chinese men. The traffickers are able to lure women with false promises of jobs because of the lack of good options for making a living in camps for displaced people in northern Myanmar's Kachin state. However, some victims are even unluckier than Kohon Ja. Human Rights Watch documented extensive bride trafficking in Myanmar, where hundreds of women are transported to China only to be sold to Chinese grooms for about $3,000 to $13,000. Myanmar anti-trafficking police said they handled 130 cases of trafficking, 96 of which involved women, in January-July 2018, the report said. Myanmar and China’s bride trafficking problem Tuesday December 15, 2020 The group interviewed 37 survivors of such crimes for the report. ... Bride trafficking, a problem on China’s belt and road. Myanmar anti-trafficking police said they handled 130 cases of trafficking, 96 of which involved women, in January-July 2018, the report said. Fleeing conflict between Myanmar's army and ethnic armed groups, she settled in an IDP camp before leaving illegally for China in December 2017, where she initially spent four months working at a metal processing plant, and another two months at a toy factory. (Photo by Rie Ishii), Children in class at the camp, where volunteers teach them every night. Thousands of women and children have also fled their homes in neighboring Shan state, some across the border into China. “My friend asked me to go work with her in China…I agreed to go with her as long as the work there would be good.” This was the simple way that one unsuspecting Kachin girl from Burma (Myanmar) ended up as a victim of human trafficking and forced marriage in China. By continuing to browse this website, you accept cookies which are used for several reasons such as personalizing content/ads and analyzing how this website is used. Nikkei Asian Review, now known as Nikkei Asia, will be the voice of the Asian Century. Additional reporting by Yuichi Nitta in Yangon. "Even though the police forces of Myanmar and China have committed to eliminating the trafficking issue, these kinds of cases are still increasing day by day," she says. Nang Pu, director of Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, a nongovernment organization based in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin, which is working to provide support for victims, says there are no signs of improvement in the dire situation. Myanmar and China’s Bride Trafficking Problem IPS 22.03.2019 Tharanga Yakupitiyage Translated by: Jpic-jp.org. The tragedies that have befallen countless Myanmar women are only the tip of the iceberg in the sprawling and dreadful world of human trafficking in Asia. Myanmar citizens, primarily women and girls, have been … In the states of Kachin and Shan, embroiled in bloody ethnic conflict for decades, more than 100,000 people have fled their villages. The man who bought the bride told her that he had paid 50,000 yuan (about $7,000) to the broker and started forcing her to have sex with him. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/world/asia/china-bride-trafficking.html He was sometimes away from home for days on end without leaving her enough food or water. The study also urged the Chinese government to allow safe passage for Myanmar nationals to reduce the need to expose themselves to exploitation and human trafficking. After long exchanges between the law-enforcement authorities of the two countries, the Chinese police finally took her into protective custody. In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented numerous cases of women and girls from Myanmar’s Kachin and northern Shan states who were trafficked and forced into sexual slavery in China, as well as the alarming lack of law … Forget the heady and romantic dream that marriage may conjure up. ... including women fleeing from North Korea and those from vulnerable ethnic and religious minority communities in Myanmar. About 7000 Cambodian women were found living in forced marriages in China in 2016. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Names have been changed to protect victims' identities. Women and girls from Myanmar are increasingly being trafficked as “brides” to China, a human rights group found. Growing awareness of the problem could deliver a blow to the outlook of the Belt and Road project as well. This content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau. In China, the one child policy led many families to opt for gender-based abortions to ensure their only child was a boy, resulting in serious gender disparities. It is impossible not to feel sorry when the heart-breaking stories of young women who became victims of bride trafficking were revealed publicly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in March and in The New York Times in August 2019, drawing attention to these human and gender rights violations going on in Myanmar's Kachin and Shan states in relation to China. Bride Trafficking in China. In many cases of bride trafficking to China, Myanmar people, including relatives of the victims, play a role. Like Kohon Ja, Shai Pan was tricked into traveling to China in search of work. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/31/chinas-bride-trafficking-problem Those who do escape are often obliged to leave children fathered by Chinese men behind. The youngest was 14. Women and girls from Myanmar are increasingly being trafficked as “brides” to China, a human rights group found. Marip Lu, 24, claims she was kidnapped by traffickers and suffered six years of captivity, rape and abuse deep in China. But her ordeal did not end there. Of 820 successful prosecutions for trafficking in 2008-2013, 534 cases involved forced marriages and an even larger share were with China. According to an estimate by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Humanitarian Health and Kachin Women's Association Thailand, roughly 21,000 women and girls from Kachin and northern Shan were trapped in forced marriages to Chinese men between 2013 and 2017, of which over 15,000 were estimated to still remain in China's Yunnan Province. She phoned her friend in Myanmar, who then informed Kohon Ja's parents of her forced marriage. When Shai Pan fearfully asked one of them about their work, she said it was to give birth to a baby by a Chinese man. It said 22 of them were held for a year or longer. Of 820 successful prosecutions for trafficking in 2008–2013, 534 cases involved forced marriages and an even larger share were with China. While she lived with the man's parents for six months, she was under constant watch by members of his family. Forget the heady and romantic dream that marriage may conjure up. Sex trafficking victims in the country are from all ethnic groups in Myanmar and foreigners. But she repeatedly refused to take the job, which she thought was totally unacceptable, no matter how much money she could earn. Please review our Shai Pan, a 25-year-old resident of Kachin state, came close to being forced into surrogacy. A human rights group says the governments in Myanmar and China are failing to stop the brutal trafficking of young women from the conflict-ridden Kachin region for sexual slavery. China has a bride trafficking problem. News > World Report: Myanmar, China failing to stop ‘bride’ trafficking. The country’s longstanding one-child policy and preference for boys created a huge gender imbalance. "Most were locked in a room and raped repeatedly as the families that bought them wanted them to become pregnant," said Heather Barr, author of the report and a co-director for women's rights at Human Rights Watch. A Chinese police officer threateningly asked her "whether you prefer to go back to your Chinese husband, or do you want to get married to another Chinese man." Trafficking of foreign women into China for forced marriage, once unheard of in China, has ceased to surprise the general public with frequent news stories about women from Vietnam, Myanmar… Dr. Kamler earned her Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where her research focused on the trafficking and migration of women in Thailand, and using the arts as a tool for … (Photo by Rie Ishii), Three Myanmar women practice using sewing machines at a job training center to gain useful skills for getting a stable job. The porous border between southern China's Yunnan province and northern Kachin facilitates such trafficking, and the relative shortage of marriageable women, thanks to Chinese traditions favoring male heirs over girls, has left many families in China desperate for brides. Sign up to our newsletters to get our best stories delivered straight to your inbox. She was lucky to be able to escape. "Human Rights Watch's research suggests the number of women and girls being trafficked is substantial and possibly growing," it said. She was taken to the house of the family into which she married, and a wedding ceremony was held two days later. It is better to get married to a Chinese man.". Marip Lu, 24, claims she was kidnapped by traffickers and suffered six years of captivity, rape and abuse deep in China. It is impossible not to feel sorry when the heart-breaking stories of young women who became victims of bride trafficking were revealed publicly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in March and in The New York Times in August 2019, … (Photo by Rie Ishii), In pictures: The plight of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees, China and India must address causes of migration to stop human traffic, Rohingya refugees should press Myanmar for their own state, Chinese illegal marriage operators exploit young Pakistani women, Misplaced calls for Myanmar sanctions threaten wrong people, Pope Francis meets Thai king in gesture of reconciliation, In pictures: 6 months of Hong Kong protests, Manila Vice: Xi and Duterte grapple with online casino crime, Rohingyas face existential challenges as refugees in Bangladesh, Indian society begins to tackle human trafficking. UNITED NATIONS, Mar 22 2019 (IPS) - Women and girls from Myanmar are increasingly being trafficked as “brides” to China, a human rights group found. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan, File) On the day after she arrived, Kohon Ja was told by the man's sister that she owed hundreds of dollars. However, the magnitude of bride trafficking in the region is unknown as reliable and recent data has been sporadic or completely missing. (Photo by Rie Ishii), A woman makes clothes with a sewing machine in a Myanmar village. If there were to be an anti-trafficking movement in Myanmar, I think it could benefit women there who are … As of September, there were about 100,000 people displaced inside Kachin, where the Kachin Independence Army, like other ethnic minority armed groups, has been fighting for greater autonomy for decades. Thousands of women and girls are being trafficked from Myanmar to China and forced to marry, study finds. For China, which wants to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean, Myanmar is an important partner from the geopolitical standpoint, and a country taking part in Chinese President Xi Jinping's "Belt and Road" initiative. Of 820 successful prosecutions for trafficking in 2008-2013, 534 cases involved forced marriages and an even larger share were with China. But for many, the experience is harrowing. There is something wrong. The AP wrote about one such case last year. Nyo, 17, an ethnic Wa girl who became a victim of human trafficking, with the baby she was forced to carry, in Mong Yal, Myanmar, March 30, 2019. {{numberArticlesLeft}} free article{{numberArticlesLeft-plural}}. However, the magnitude of bride trafficking in the region is unknown as reliable and recent data has been sporadic or completely missing. China's major gender imbalance is fuelling the phenomeon of "bride trafficking," which sees foreign women and girls trafficked into forced marriage. Myanmar anti-trafficking police said they handled 130 cases of trafficking, 96 of which involved women, in January-July 2018, the report said. Of 820 successful prosecutions for trafficking in 2008-2013, 534 cases involved forced marriages and an even larger share were with China. Shai Pan was told that she would receive $10,000 for each baby she gave birth to. Her father immediately told the village chief and police about his daughter's message, and began to make frantic efforts to rescue her. A UN Women programme is supporting local partner, Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, in providing legal support and vocational training to survivors. Twelve of those interviewed were under 18 when they were trafficked. Many bachelors from rural areas resort to mail-order-brides from Southeast Asian and other neighboring countries, which has fueled a sinister business of bride trafficking in China. Nikkei Inc. No reproduction without permission. Human Rights Watch, an international human rights group, has pointed out that Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as Myanmar, "have become source countries for a brutal business -- the trafficking of women and girls for sale in China as brides.". BRIDE TRAFFICKING - Sourcing vulnerable women from the Kachin and Shan states. Women and girls from Myanmar are increasingly being trafficked as “brides” to China. BANGKOK -- Authorities in China and Myanmar are failing to stop the brutal trafficking of young women, often teenagers, from the conflict-ridden Kachin region for sexual slavery, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. In 2005, Myanmar passed an anti-trafficking law, but trafficking is still rampant in the conflict-affected state, especially in the northern region, where it borders China. "Finally, I could not refuse anymore," said Kohon Ja. Please help me." While the whole picture is not clear from what Shai Pan saw and heard, it was apparently a business of importing trafficked Myanmar women to serve as surrogate mothers. The trafficking networks span China. "I only had a tiny bottle of water. The trafficking networks span China. "There are only a few job opportunities ... For brokers, it is very easy to traffic the women," said Nang Pu. The magnitude of sex trafficking in Myanmar is difficult to know because of the lack reporting and data, the secretive nature of sex trafficking crimes, and other factors. Myanmar anti-trafficking police said they handled 130 cases of trafficking, 96 of which involved women, in January-July 2018, the report said. The study also urged the Chinese government to allow safe passage for Myanmar nationals to reduce the need to expose themselves to exploitation and human trafficking. The 226 known cases of such trafficking in 2017 were only a fraction of the total number, since many victims are afraid or ashamed to come forward, especially given the lack of support from law enforcement or welfare services, the report says. The report urges authorities to do more to raise awareness about the risks of trafficking, provide more support for victims who return home, and to prosecute those guilty of crimes against them. Since overhauling its image in Myanmar is an important task for China, there is much pressure on Beijing to take effective steps to deal with the serious humanitarian problem of the trafficking of women from Myanmar to China. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan, File). Of 820 successful prosecutions for trafficking in 2008-2013, 534 cases involved forced marriages and an even larger share were with China. Aung Ja* was 18 when a woman from Myitkina, northern Myanmar, convinced her to take a ‘factory’ job in China. "You took on [the debt] when you decided to work in China," the sister said, adding "If you want to pay off the money, the best way is to get married to a Chinese man. The trafficking networks span China. While she was away her in-laws sold her house and put one of her children in an orphanage. Tackling human trafficking in Myanmar. Although Chinese authorities have been battling trafficking inside China as well, the families who buy the women are almost never prosecuted, the report says. The … Human Rights Watch documented extensive bride trafficking in Myanmar, where hundreds of women are transported to China only to be sold to Chinese grooms for about $3,000 to … A Myanmar bride can be sold for up to USD$20,000 in China(Nick Baker) Government inaction Myanmar enacted an Anti-Trafficking in Persons … One interviewee, Ja Htoi Tsawm, was kidnapped while doing farm work in China to support her family and held captive for two years. It is impossible not to feel sorry when the heart-breaking stories of young women who became victims of bride trafficking were revealed publicly by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in March and in The New York Times in August 2019, drawing attention to these human and gender rights violations going on in Myanmar's Kachin and Shan … With dismal prospects of finding Chinese wives for their sons, they have begun importing women from nearby countries like Myanmar, sometimes by force. Rights Group Urges Greater Anti-Trafficking Coordination by Myanmar, China to Tackle ‘Bride’ Trade By Joshua Lipes 2019-03-21 Tweet Print Share … China\'s major gender imbalance is fuelling the phenomeon of \"bride trafficking,\" which sees foreign women and girls trafficked into forced marriage. Some foreign brides from neighboring countries go voluntarily. Desperate to work, Kohon Ja bought her story and traveled to another village. 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