A grave trafficking crisis

The 'discovery' of yet more mass graves along the heavily-forested Malaysia-Thailand border makes the case that the Southeast Asia human trafficking disaster is far from being over. Considering the scale and rate of displacement, the capacity of the countries concerned, namely, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh, to crack down on the traffickers and cope with the refugees has barely improved at all.  

While migrants make the perilous and fatal voyage on rickety boats, hundreds die en route and many more are held captive in jungle camps along the border, often allegedly in collaboration with local law enforcement officials, until their friends or relatives cough up enough cash to buy their freedom, according to new reports.  

Their sufferings do not end even after they manage to reach their destinations. Most of them receive no government assistance nor are they allowed to work legally, leaving them with little choice but to make do with irregular construction jobs, where they are liable to further exploitation.

Digging out graves is not enough. While addressing the root causes that impel them to take such desperate and risky measures may be a long-term commitment, governments must rise to the occasion, with their responses matching the urgency of this humanitarian disaster.

At this point, governments of this region need to go on an all-out campaign against the trafficking cartels and their accomplices in some of these countries.