1 / 4Indonesian fishermen unload their catch at the port in JakartaIndonesian fishermen unload their catch at the port in Jakarta Enslaved, beaten, malnourished, and so desperate for water he had to collect condensation to drink: Rahmatullah left Indonesia seeking better prospects at sea -- instead he endured a living hell.
"I felt like a slave," the 24-year-old told AFP, adding:"The Chinese crew drank clean water while we had to collect water from the air conditioning."Rahmatullah is one of 40 Indonesians pushing for compensation after allegedly being tricked with false promises by recruiter PT Maritim Samudera.In interviews with AFP and accounts provided to police and government officials, the men recounted beatings and psychological abuse, hunger, and dehydration.
Faced with plummeting global fish stocks due to overfishing, seafood companies have increasingly turned to vulnerable migrant workers in a bid to remain profitable, anti-trafficking advocates said. Most are destined for fishing fleets that often obscure their origins through foreign flagging, a system that complicates monitoring and jurisdictional oversight by allowing ships to register in a country other than the owner's own, to avoid strict labour and environmental standards.