By: Walden Bello, teleSUR, May 28, 2015
The sorry state of human and labor rights in the region was driven home by three events that captured the world’s attention in the last three months.
In the late 20th century, Southeast Asia was seen a region of
“tiger economies” that were the envy of the world. That narrative has
vanished. Today, the area is regarded by many as a site of ethnic
cleansing, great inequality, and super-exploited labor.
The sorry state of human and labor rights in the region was driven
home by three events that captured the world’s attention in the last
three months.
Dominating the news was the appalling situation of several thousand
Rohingyas fleeing violent persecution in Myanmar or Burma. Hiring
smugglers to carry them to safety by sea, the Rohingyas found themselves
floating in the high seas, unable to land as neighboring states refused
to accept them.
As if the plight of the Rohingyas were not shocking enough, an
island in Indonesia was revealed to have illegal fish factories operated
with Burmese and Thai forced labor. Relatives of many those kept
captive on the island of Benjina had given up hope that they would ever
be found. The nightmare turned out to be merely the tip of a
multimillion dollar industry built on the backs of slaves with the
complicity of Thai and Indonesian authorities.
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