People from China, Vietnam and Ethiopia, wait in limbo in eastern Myanmar. (AP Photo:Thanaphon Wuttison)
In short:
Thousands of people are still detained in Myanmar, more than a month after their release.
They are being kept in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions by the armed groups that arranged their release.
What's next?
Thailand is working with embassies to coordinate the release and handover of people, but said it can only handle up to 300 people per day.
A dramatic and highly publicised operation by the Thai, Chinese and Myanmar authorities has led to the release of more than 7,000 people from online scam compounds in Myanmar.
But what they thought was an end to their ordeal was the beginning of another nightmare.
Thousands of young men and women from Asia, Europe and Africa released last month from modern day slavery are now waiting in an indefinite limbo at repurposed scam centres and army camps controlled by armed militia groups.
It's the first major global effort to crack down on the fast-growing industry of scamming, which is turning into a growing humanitarian crisis.
After survivors of trafficking are freed from scam compounds, they still face a long journey to return to their home country. (AP: Thanaphon Wuttison)
A high-profile crackdown
Gangs running illegal scams have trapped hundreds of thousands of people in locked compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia and other places in South-East Asia.
People who have managed to leave say they were initially lured to Thailand with promises of lucrative jobs, only to find themselves locked in buildings where they describe being forced to sit at computers up to 16 hours a day running scams.
Refusing to work could bring beatings, starvation and electric shocks.
The scams trick people around the world into sending their life savings to fictitious romantic partners or investment opportunities, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimating that anywhere between $18 billion and $37 billion was lost in Asia alone in 2023.
As outrage grew in China following the kidnapping of a young actor, Beijing pressured authorities in Thailand and Myanmar to act.
The Thai government cut off power and electricity, and government-aligned armed groups that control areas near Myanmar's border with Thailand released some 7,000 people from scam centres.
Victims of trafficking wait in army camps or former scam compounds until they can be repatriated. (AP: Thanaphon Wuttison)
From forced labour to indefinite detention
But more than a month after the crackdown began, thousands of people are still detained in Myanmar, kept in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions by the armed groups that arranged their release.
Photos show people squatting in rows, stacked against each other, surgical masks covering some of their eyes and mouths.
In clandestine calls, survivors say they fear for their lives as illness is rampant and conditions are unsafe.
They sleep on floors in army camps or former scam compounds guarded by armed militia groups.
They're crowded in facilities not meant for the sheer numbers.
In one army camp, 800 people are sharing 10 toilets, one survivor said.
Thai soldiers provide security for returnees after being rescued from scam centres in eastern Myanmar. (AP: Sakchai Lalit)
Waiting for a $600 plane ticket
Getting home is dependent on the resources available by country. China sent a chartered flight Thursday to the tiny Mae Sot airport to pick up its citizens, but few other governments have matched that.
Roughly 130 Ethiopians are waiting on a Thai military base, stuck for want of a $600 plane ticket.
Their plight has drawn concern from the US State Department and demands for their release from international human rights organisations, but Thai officials won't allow people to cross the border until their home countries arrange for them to leave immediately.
There are a handful of advocacy groups operating at the border helping.
Thailand is working with embassies to coordinate the release and handover of people, but said it can only handle up to 300 people per day, down from 500 initially.
Thailand is working with embassies of some countries that have citizens stuck on the Thai-Myanmar border following their rescue from scam compounds. (AP: Sakchai Lalit)
Business as usual
Advocates say removing thousands of people from scam compounds won't stop efforts to scam and steal life savings from Americans and others.
No bosses have been arrested.
Compounds have resources to deal with internet and electricity cuts, running on fuel-powered generators and using satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk's Starlink.
AP