Myanmar bans book exposing human trafficking in cyber-scam compounds

The Myanmar government has reportedly banned a book titled ‘The Kafala System,’ published by the South Africa-based Saad Kassis-Mohamed Center. The publication documents the trafficking of African and Asian workers into illegal cyber-scam compounds located in Myawaddy near the Thai border and in Shan State along the Chinese frontier.

The book draws a parallel between the Kafala system—a sponsorship-based labor regime used in the Gulf states, Jordan, and Lebanon—and the extralegal captivity found in Myanmar’s scam operations. Both systems are described as stripping migrant workers of their ability to control their own movement or leave their employers.

Survivors of these compounds, including nationals from Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Philippines, report being recruited with promises of legitimate work before being forced to run online fraud operations. Those who fail to meet quotas face violence, including beatings and electric shocks. Researchers note that the ban aligns with a pattern of Myanmar authorities resisting external scrutiny as scam industries continue to expand and relocate.