From False Promises Abroad to Second Chances in Myanmar

Eastern Shan, Myanmar – The promise of a job changed everything for Ma Dai*. 

As the eldest daughter and sole breadwinner in her family, she was growing anxious to find a way to make ends meet. An online post caught her attention: “Women only, 10,000 yuan (USD 1,390) a month, no experience needed.” The recruiter, someone she felt she could trust, said the job would be in a karaoke bar or a grocery shop in Myanmar. 

Her mother, uneasy, took a photo of the broker’s ID card. By midday the next day, Ma Dai was on a motorbike heading north. What followed was a blur of vehicles, roadside stops, and a string of brokers. With each handover, she was taken further away across the border into China. The further she went, the fewer answers she got.  

“I kept asking where we were. No one answered,” she says. 

On the second night, she was told to climb onto another motorbike and then wade silently through a chest-deep stream. Her legs trembled as her soaked clothes clung to her body. 

“There was no turning back. I didn’t even know which road led home,” she recalls. 

She hadn’t eaten all day. Told to stay quiet so the authorities wouldn’t hear them, she sat in silence, wet, hungry and suddenly very afraid. 

In a rundown guesthouse on the outskirts of a town in China, she was taken to a room filled with men who taunted her but did not touch her. A final broker arrived, handed her some cash, and told her the truth: she had been sold as a bride. 

Refusing meant repaying 30,000 yuan (USD 4,200) – a sum far beyond her reach. Closely monitored day and night, Ma Dai asked the traffickers for Wi-Fi access, pretending she wanted to watch a movie. Behind the screen, she sent desperate messages to her sister in Myanmar. 

Her sister, a community volunteer, contacted a friend who had relatives in China, who then alerted the local police. Within hours, officers messaged Ma Dai directly: “Stay where you are. Keep your phone on.”  

“When I saw the police car, I used my phone’s torch to signal them,” she remembers. “I felt something lift off my chest.” 

Police raided the house before sunrise and arrested the traffickers. Ma Dai was taken to a government transit centre – a repurposed carwash serving as a shelter. While waiting for her case to be processed, she spent seven months there washing cars for meals, counting the days.  

“Seven months felt like seven years, but every morning I told myself my children were still waiting,” she says. 

Her repatriation was made possible through support from a counter-trafficking NGO and coordination between liaison officers on both sides of the border. When her papers were finalized, Ma Dai boarded the first flight of her life and returned to Myanmar with a small bag and a promise to herself never to trust an unverified online job offer again. 

Back in her township, she had little more than the clothes she wore. With support from local authorities and a local civil society organization, she was referred for reintegration assistance to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its partner. With the support, she started a small farm that now provides steady income.  

“These animals are my second chance,” she says, pointing to her livestock. “If I earn enough, I will open the grocery shop I once dreamed of.” 

She now shares her story at village meetings, warning others about online job scams. “I don’t want anyone to suffer like I did,” she says. “If an offer sounds too good, take a photo, ask questions, call someone.” 

Human trafficking remains a widespread issue in Myanmar, affecting both nationals and migrants. Behind every case are organized criminal networks that profit while families like Ma Dai’s pay the price. 

IOM and its partners continue working to raise awareness and provide protection for those at risk. Their efforts aim to dismantle trafficking networks and ensure survivors can rebuild their lives with dignity. 

Ma Dai still wakes up some nights in fear. But each morning brings chores – feeding piglets, tending to her garden, and walking her children to school. 

“I lost almost everything,” she says. “But I came back with hope, and that’s enough to begin again.” 

Ma Dai’s rescue and recovery were made possible through coordinated efforts across borders. Protection actors, including IOM and local partners, stepped in to assess her needs and provide immediate support. In the longer term, economic reintegration assistance such as livestock packages has helped hundreds of returnee survivors across Myanmar. 

*The name has been changed to protect her identity. 

*This story was originally published on the IOM website.