Thua Thien – Hue (VNA) – The central province of Thua Thien – Hue is enacting a number of measu🌸res to prevent human trafficking and support the victims to reintegrate into the community.

The victims are mainly young men and women living in the mountainous ethnic minority areas, reported relevant agencies. Some 50 youngsters aged 14-23 in mountainous A Luoi district were trafficked from 2005 to June 2016, they said. The most serious case involved 32 people who were swindled to come to central Quang Nam province for illegal logging and gold mining. The victims were forced to work over 15 hours per day without healthcare, rest and payment. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nham, an official from the A Luoi district Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said most of the victims kept themselves distant from the community after rescued. Many were unemployed or had unstable and low-paid jobs. Given the fact, local authorities have promptly lent a helping hand, supporting the victims to develop home-based production activities, as well as establishing “self-reliance” groups to facilitate their reintegration. Thua Thien – Hue province is home to nearly 40,000 ethnic minority people, mainly inhabiting in the poor mountainous districts of Nam Dong and A Luoi. Tens of thousands of locals have to work far from home, including nearly 8,000 working in Laos, Thailand and China. They are prone to human trafficking for labour exploitation or other profit-making purposes. According to the provincial sub-department of social vice prevention, Thua Thien – Hue has actively coordinated with relevant agencies to provide technical assistance in farming and animal husbandry and offer jobs for the victims. A number of training courses were opened to help officials in anti-human trafficking increase their professional capacity. The province has also issued a plan to receive and support the victims between 2016 and 2020 and is seeking enhanced domestic and international collaboration in the field.-VNA