**Great News! Five of the group rescued from modern slavery in this Cambodian scam compound have already made it home AND we have secured support to cover repatriation costs for 14 of the remaining 20. However, we URGENTLY need funds to pay for the last six survivors to return to Uganda**

In late 2024, John (not his real name) saw an online job advertisement for work at a supermarket in Cambodia.

For a young man in rural Uganda, the opportunity to work abroad meant a chance to support his family and escape poverty.

A recruitment agent arranged his visa and paperwork. John travelled via Ethiopia and Thailand, even being given $600 in cash so he could prove he had sufficient funds when questioned at Bangkok airport.

When he arrived in Cambodia, everything changed.

The driver who met him confiscated his passport and cash almost immediately. John was driven for more than three hours from Phnom Penh to a remote area near the Vietnam border in Prey Veng province. The “supermarket” did not exist. Instead, he was taken to a heavily guarded, anonymous cluster of buildings.

This was Mansion No. 8. A cyber-slavery compound.

Inside, John was told he now belonged to the operation. He would be forced to run online scams or be punished.

Life Inside a Scam Compound

John had been trafficked into a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry that has spread rapidly across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and beyond. Victims — often from the world’s poorest countries — are forced to scam people in wealthier nations through:

For over a year, John and his colleagues were beaten, threatened, and tortured if they failed to meet scam targets. Despite generating millions of dollars for the criminal group, John personally earned just $30, given as a token “gift” during Chinese New Year.

The compound’s ownership has been linked to Huione, a globally blacklisted money-laundering network, and Prince Group, which has been sanctioned internationally and described by authorities as one of the most significant organised crime groups operating in Southeast Asia.

An Imminent Threat — and a Narrow Escape

In December 2025, the situation became even more dangerous.

As international pressure mounted on Cambodia — particularly over scams targeting U.S. citizens — those forced to scam Americans were suddenly ordered to leave the compound. This did not mean freedom.

It meant they were likely to be re-sold and trafficked onward to Laos.

John and 24 other Ugandan and Kenyan victims knew they could disappear at any moment.

With support from partners, a global public campaign, and direct negotiations with authorities and the criminal group behind the compound, The Eyewitness Project helped secure their release and move them to safety.

We documented part of this rescue process here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Darsm23yA/

Where They Are Now — and the Urgent Problem

The survivors are currently staying in a shelter in Phnom Penh.

After prolonged negotiations, Cambodian authorities agreed to waive their overstay visa fees — something that is not automatic, even for confirmed trafficking victims.

However, 20 Ugandan survivors were given a deadline of mid-March to leave Cambodia.

They are allowed to return home — but only if they can pay for their own flights, which must follow a set route, using an agreed carrier (Ethiopian Airlines). The flight prices are going up day by day.

These are people who were trafficked, imprisoned, and violently exploited.

They have no savings, no support networks, and only recently had their passports returned.

Without urgent help, they face:

Getting home is not a luxury.

It is the final, critical step in survival.

What We Need

Thanks to the generosity of charities in Uganda, we are now able to cover costs for 14 of the 20 flights.

But we urgently need to raise a further $6,000 to cover airfare and essential travel costs for 6 Ugandan trafficking survivors

Note: Current costs on the designated flight routes mean that we need to budget $1000 for each person's travel. However, we are still striving to negotiate. In the unlikely event that there are any remaining funds from this campaign, we will use them directly to help other trafficking victims currently stranded in Cambodia and across the region.

How You Can Help

Please donate if you are able — even a small amount directly helps survivors return home with dignity.

Share also this campaign even if you cannot donate — visibility can save lives.

Thank you for standing with survivors of modern slavery and helping bring them home.

The crucial point is this. There is no other help coming. The UN, embassies and international organisations are overloaded and there are no funds to deal with this crisis. We need support from ordinary people across the world to get these people safely home after their truly horrendous ordeal.

*I am working on this case as part of the EyeWitness Project’s efforts to rescue and support victims of human trafficking. We have received permission from the six victims involved to act on their behalf to help secure their safe return home. Funds raised through this campaign will be used to cover the cost of their return travel to Uganda. Depending on what is most practical, the funds will either be transferred directly to the six Ugandan nationals who require financial assistance for their airfare, or the flight tickets will be purchased directly from the account where the donations are received. If there are any additional funds remaining once the flight tickets are purchased, then this will be put towards support for the rapidly growing number of scam-related human trafficking victims currently trapped in Cambodia.*