BENJINA, Indonesia (AP) – Hundreds of foreign fishermen on Friday rushed at the chance to be rescued from an isolated island where an Associated Press report revealed slavery runs rampant in the industry. Indonesian officials investigating abuses offered to take them out of concern for the men’s safety.
The men, from countries including Myanmar and Cambodia, began getting the news as a downpour started, and some ran through the rain. They sprinted back to their boats, jumping over the rails and throwing themselves through windows. They stuffed their meager belongings into plastic bags and rushed back to the dock, not wanting to be left behind.
A small boat went from trawler to trawler picking up men who wanted to go and was soon loaded down with about 30 men.
The director general of Indonesia’s Marine Resources and Fisheries Surveillance initially told about 20 men from Myanmar, also known as Burma, that he would move them from Benjina village to neighboring Tual island for their safety following interviews with officials on Friday. However, as news spread that men were getting to leave the island, dozens of others started filing in from all over and sitting on the floor.
When the official, Asep Burhundun, was asked if others hiding in the jungle could come as well, he said, “They can all come. We don’t want to leave a single person behind.”