Govt steps in to assist citizens trafficked to Myanmar

Government has purchased flight tickets for a group of young Namibians stranded in Myanmar after they travelled to the Asian country on promises of lucrative employment, only to later discover they had been trafficked. The group contacted relatives in Namibia, who subsequently alerted the Namibian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.



“Flight tickets were bought for them. The delay at this stage is due only to immigration processes that must be followed,” a Namibian government source told Namibian Sun late on Monday. The source said the repatriation process had been initiated some time ago by the ministry of international relations, dismissing suggestions that government had failed to act.



“So the idea that government is not doing anything about the situation is neither here nor there. We are on top of things as far as this matter is concerned,” the source said.



The official further warned Namibians to exercise caution when applying for seemingly luxurious online job offers abroad, noting that many such opportunities turn out to be fraudulent and linked to human trafficking networks.