One of the many workers who spoke to Mekong Independent about their experience fleeing a scam compound and surviving in Phnom Penh asked to share his own story. We are reposting it here, with only a few edits for clarity. You can reach out to him at kamyapaul07@gmail.com
OPINION — My name is Paul. I come from Uganda. Like many young men searching for a better future, I believed in opportunity. I believed in promises. And that belief nearly destroyed me.
Back home in Uganda, I was interviewed for what I was told would be a normal job abroad. The people who interviewed me spoke confidently. They made everything sound legal, professional, and safe. They said I would work as a regular employee, earn good money, and support my family. Nothing sounded suspicious. Nothing sounded dangerous.
So I agreed.
When I arrived in Cambodia, everything changed.
Instead of taking me to a company office or a normal workplace, they transported me to what they called a “compound.” Later, I learned the name of the place: Park 8. It was controlled by Chinese bosses. It was not an office. It was a camp.
That is when I realized something was wrong.
We were not free. We were not employees. We were controlled.
At Park 8, they told us our real job. We were forced to scam people online.
Whether you wanted to do it or not did not matter. You had to do it.
They made us search for clients on U.S. platforms. We were ordered to use Facebook first. We would locate potential victims, start conversations, and slowly build trust. We were told to give fake reviews, fake promises, and convince them to pay money for “ladies” or services that did not exist.
We would ask for their location. We would ask for payments. Everything was a lie.
After Facebook, they moved us to another system involving YouTube. We were given random phone numbers. We had to send messages to strangers and convince them to subscribe to YouTube channels. When someone subscribed, they would send us a screenshot as proof.
For each screenshot, they were told to pay small amounts — $5 or $10. It looked small at first. That was how the trap began.
We would then pass the victim to another person in the compound. That person would continue chatting, building trust. They would reward them with small commissions at first. For example, the victim would pay $50 and be promised $500 in return. Sometimes they would even pay out small amounts just to build confidence.
The more screenshots the victims sent, the more “commission” they believed they were earning. Slowly, the payments increased. From $50 to $500. From $500 to $5,000. Some victims lost $10,000. Others lost $50,000. Some even lost up to $100,000.
It was all a system designed to build trust, then drain everything.
Inside the compound, we were also trapped in another way. We were promised commissions. They would sometimes give us small amounts of money first, to make us feel like we were earning. But later, they would demand payments from us too — charging us fees, penalties, or fake debts. It was a cycle of psychological control.
You were both the worker and another victim.
We lived under pressure. If you refused to work, there were consequences. Fear was constant. You felt guilty for scamming innocent people. You felt trapped because you had no freedom. You felt ashamed because you had believed the original promise.
I left Uganda searching for honest work.
Instead, I found myself inside a scam compound called Park 8, forced to deceive strangers across the world.
Human trafficking does not always look like chains. Sometimes it looks like job interviews, flight tickets, and promises of opportunity. Sometimes it looks like a compound where your passport, your freedom, and your choices are no longer yours.
I am telling this story not because it is easy, but because it is real.
I was trafficked.
I was forced into online scamming.
And I survived.
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URGENT APPEAL FOR SUPPORT
My name is Paul, and I am reaching out with a heavy heart to ask for urgent support.
I am a victim of human trafficking. I was brought into a difficult and unsafe situation that has left me stranded far away from home. What I experienced has deeply affected my life, emotionally, physically, and financially.
Right now, my situation is extremely serious.
I have nowhere stable to sleep.
I do not have enough food.
My health is not good, and I am not feeling well.
I am alone and struggling to survive each day.
All I want at this moment is to return home safely and start rebuilding my life. I need support to cover my travel expenses and basic emergency needs. The estimated cost for my ticket and urgent necessities is around $1,200 as prices have increased.
I am humbly asking for any support, whether through donations or assistance in connecting me to organizations that help victims of trafficking. Any help, no matter how small, will bring me closer to safety and recovery.
This is not easy for me to ask, but I truly need help. My situation is urgent, and I am trying to find a safe way back home.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for any kindness you can offer.
