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Ismail

Men, women and children make up those trafficked in Indonesia, subjected to forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Brokers working in rural areas are known to lure men and boys into forced labour on palm oil, rubber and tobacco plantations. This is often done through debt bondage, in which employers claim the enslaved owes them money for costs that were never agreed upon and as such they must pay off these debts before they can regain their freedom. Threatened with violence and death they become trapped and feel unable to escape the long working hours and heavy labour they must endure without pay. Rising unemployment and slowed job creation has pushed people into the informal sector unprotected by labour laws, and thus has made them more vulnerable to exploitation. There are currently only 18 shelters in Indonesia working to rescue and rehabilitate traffic victims. Unable to afford to continue his education and believing that he could earn more money abroad to support his family, Ismail had been working illegally in Malaysia when he was deported to Dumai, Sumatra where he was approached by a man claiming to be an official. From the moment he departed Dumai Ismail began to accumulate debt, he was told he would be working in the logging industry to pay this off. Subjected to heavy labour under the threat of death, it was only when he was transferred to another workplace with a more lenient boss that Ismail was able to escape and reunite with his family.