Six more stranded fishermen in Indonesia to return home

BANGKOK, March 28 (TNA) - Six more Thai fishermen stranded in Indonesia are expected to return home next week after 21 of them arrived home Friday night following an assistance given by the Thai government, said Sek Wannamathee, director-general of Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Information Department. Mr. Sek said six fishermen are scheduled to return home on April 1 while another five now staying on Indonesia’s Bejina Islands are now undergoing a nationality identification process by immigration officials. It is expected that the process would take about two weeks before they could return to Thailand. On Friday night, 21 Thai fishermen who had been stranded in Indonesia ‘s Ambon Island since last October returned home.They were welcomed by officials of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and concerned government agencies as well as their relatives at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport. All the 21 fishermen were swindled by agents involved in forced labour and were first hired to work on fishing boats in Samut Sakhon province, near Bangkok, and were later sent to work on fishing trawlers in Ambon Island.They later managed to escape and sought for assistance, officials said. They said the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security would send all the rescued fishermen to the Department of Special Investigation or related agencies for interrogation so that assistance could be given because all the fishermen did not have identification or necessary documents.The fishermen would later be sent to a temporary protection centre in Pathum Thani province before they are sent to their native hometowns, officials said. To date, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has provided help to 169 Thai fishermen who had been rescued and returned home voluntarily. (TNA)