Myanmar govt repatriates Myanmar citizen facing adversity in UAE

The government has been exerting concerted efforts to repatriate Myanmar nationals facing hardships in foreign countries, so it brought a Myanmar woman called Ma Thet Thet Lin back to Myanmar after the Myanmar Consulate-General in Dubai negotiated with the officials concerned from the UAE Ministry of Interior, relevant police force and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization.
Ma Thet Thet Lin departed from Dubai at 2 pm local time on 12 January and arrived at Yangon at 10:15 pm Myanmar Standard Time.
The government ensures consular protection for Myanmar citizens abroad who are encountering adversities and arranges to bring them home safe and sound by connecting with the Myanmar embassy and consulate in the respective countries and the relevant embassies.
Ma Thet Thet Lin, a domestic worker in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, suffered extreme health conditions and wanted to go back home. She informed her recruitment agency in Myanmar, yet her employer wanted her to pay back 23,000 Dirham (US$6,500) that they gave to the agency to hire her, including the cost of processing her passport, flight ticket, travel, and food.
The Myanmar agent ignored her case. The Myanmar Consulate-General negotiated with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provided her with an air ticket (K3.3 million).
Ma Thet Thet Lin explained how she decided to work overseas and faced hardships.
“I am from Latpan village, Pathein Township in Ayeyawady Region. I happened to work in Dubai in June 2023 with the help of a friend of mine, and when I was working in a private hospital in Myanmar, I couldn’t cover my living costs.” She had a good relationship with the homeowner. Nonetheless, sleep deprivation from only 2.5 hours of sleep affected her physical and mental health to keep working. She had permission to use her mobile phone once every two weeks. She talked about her condition to her family, in which they asked for help from an anti-human trafficking task force.
“I’m so grateful to the Myanmar Consulate-General in Dubai for bringing me back home. I encountered difficulties due to cultural shock, food culture and language barriers. I want those who want to work abroad to reconsider. Myanmar families and relatives should also ask for information about what is going on. They must enquire about things before working abroad, not just for making money. I want to express my genuine thanks to all the government personnel and staff for helping me to return home, especially the government and officials from the Myanmar Consulate General,” she appreciated.
“Myanmar Consulate-General is helping repatriate Myanmar nationals facing hardships in the UAE. Myanmar recruitment agencies are found to have no responsibility to resolve conflicts between employers and employees. Instead, they even seized the workers’ passports, and some brokers transferred workers to new employers by violating labour rights.’’
Workers and their parents and relatives showed appreciation for the efforts of the Myanmar embassy and government officials in repatriating citizens facing difficulties abroad. — Nyein Thu (MNA)/EM