Survivor Leadership and Empowerment:
Strengthening the leadership, capacity, and participation of trafficking survivors in advocacy, policy dialogue, and decision-making processes.
Survivor-led organization ang Bangladeshi Trafficking survivors' network since 2011
Together We dream
Together We Change Lives.
ANIRBAN means "the flame that never fades" in Bangla a survivors' network of former trafficking victims, now mobilising communities against human trafficking and child marriage.
250 members across 12 chapters in 26 districts
Survivor-Led
250 members all former victims of trafficking, now mobilising peers.
Since 2011
More than a decade of survivor-led action against trafficking and child marriage.
12 Chapters
Active across 26 districts of Bangladesh from Cox's Bazar to Dinajpur.
Trauma-Informed
Confidential, dignity-first support no photos published without consent.
What We Do
Human Trafficking Prevention:
Conducting community awareness campaigns, outreach initiatives, and prevention programs to reduce vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation.
Safe Migration and Migrant Protection:
Promoting safe migration practices, providing information and referrals, and advocating for the protection of migrant workers' rights.
Child Protection and Prevention of Child Marriage:
Working with communities and stakeholders to prevent child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), child marriage, and other forms of violence against children.
Survivor Support and Referral Services:
Facilitating access to protection, psychosocial support, legal assistance, reintegration services, and referrals for trafficking survivors and vulnerable individuals.
Advocacy and Policy Engagement:
Collaborating with government institutions, civil society, media, and international partners to strengthen policies, systems, and accountability mechanisms.
Research, Documentation, and Survivor Voices:
Documenting survivor experiences, generating evidence, and amplifying survivor perspectives to influence programs, policies, and public awareness.
National and Global Networking:
Building partnerships and connecting survivor leaders with national, regional, and global platforms to advance collective action against trafficking and exploitation.
Our MissionLearn About Us
A movement built by survivors, for survivors.
To unite survivors and strengthen their leadership, advocacy, and empowerment to prevent human trafficking, child marriage, commercial sexual exploitation of children and other forms of exploitation, while driving policy change and social transformation at the local, national, and international levels.
Survivor-centered & rights-based
Confidential & trauma-informed
National & international advocacy
Aligned with global standards
Our Impact So Far
250
Network Members
419
Survivors Supported
1,782
People Reached
26
Districts Reached
12
ANIRBAN Chapters
Voices of Strength
Real survivors. Real change.
Stories shared by members of our community in their own words.
Our President
TIP Hero 2024
Al‑Amin works as the President and Co‑founder of ANIRBAN Survivor Voice Foundation, a survivor‑led organization in Bangladesh. Al‑Amin is a survivor of labor trafficking, a 2024 TIP Hero, an IVLP alum, and a UNDP Change Maker Award recipient. He shares his story by advocating globally for safe migration, awareness building, strengthening survivor leadership, survivor empowerment, and driving policy change to prevent exploitation. He is part of ANIRBAN Survivor Voice Foundation, which is part of the Global Survivor Network. In his free time, he enjoys mentoring emerging leaders, engaging in community development activities, and spending time with his family. In 2026, Al Amin Noyon became a member of the Leadership Council for the Global Survivor Network, an international group of survivor leaders who desire and pursue safe communities through justice systems that protect the most vulnerable. He says, “Survivor are leaders, not victims. My mission is to continue empowering survivor voices and working towards a future free from trafficking and exploitation.” Al Amin Noyon lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Speaker Overview Travels from: Bangladesh or available virtually Languages: English, Bangla Expertise: He leads survivor-centered interventions and manages complex trafficking cases, including survivor-led rescue and repatriation from high-risk exploitation settings such as scam compounds. He works with a strong focus on the protection of women’s and children’s rights, applying gender-sensitive and child protection approaches alongside trauma-informed and timely support. He facilitates survivors’ meaningful engagement with criminal justice processes, including police, prosecution, and courts. He actively addresses barriers to justice, strengthens survivors and witness protection mechanisms, and contributes to improving accountability within legal systems. He engages in anti-trafficking policy implementation and safe migration advocacy, while also working on prevention initiatives addressing human trafficking, human smuggling, child marriage, and CSEC through awareness and community-based interventions. His collaboration with NGOs, government institutions, and international organizations has been instrumental in strengthening rights-based protection systems for women, children, and other vulnerable groups, and in advancing survivor empowerment and leadership development pathways. Experience: Al Amin Noyon has over seventeen years of experience working in survivor-centered anti-trafficking and migrant protection programs in Bangladesh. He has led survivor-led rescue and repatriation operations, including cases involving high-risk exploitation settings such as scam compounds. He has extensive experience in managing complex trafficking cases, coordinating with criminal justice actors, and facilitating survivors’ engagement with police, prosecution, and court processes. He has worked closely with government institutions, NGOs, and international organizations to strengthen protection, referral, and reintegration systems. His work also includes survivor and witness protection, trauma-informed case management, policy advocacy on safe migration and anti-trafficking laws, and prevention initiatives addressing human trafficking, human smuggling, child marriage, and CSEC through community-based awareness and capacity-building programs.
Because I Was a Woman, They Forced Me to Pretend to Fall in Love So Others Would Lose Everything.
30 Days, 30 Voices:
Episode 4: Because I Was a Woman, They Forced Me to Pretend to Fall in Love So Others Would Lose Everything. "They turned me into the face of their scam. I was forced to smile on live video calls, pretend to fall in love, gain people's trust, and persuade them to invest their money. I was never a fraudster. I was a survivor of human trafficking, forced to become a tool of exploitation." I grew up in a poor family in Bangladesh. Like many young women, I dreamed of finding a decent job abroad so I could support my family. A recruiter promised me a legitimate position as a computer operator in Cambodia with a monthly salary of USD 800. Everything appeared legal. My passport, visa, and travel documents were arranged, and I believed I was leaving for a better future. Instead, I was trafficked. After arriving in Cambodia, I was taken to a guesthouse. Eight days later, I was sold for USD 3,000 to a Chinese-controlled cyber scam compound. At first, I was forced to collect phone numbers using fake online identities. When I refused, I was threatened and physically abused. Because I was a woman, they assigned me a different role. They forced me to appear on live video calls and portray the "perfect woman" that victims wanted to believe was real. I was instructed to build emotional relationships with people from the United States, Canada, and Europe, gain their trust, and convince them to deposit money into fraudulent investment platforms. Every smile, every conversation, and every promise was controlled by the criminal network behind the screen. I had no freedom. I was acting under coercion. During my captivity, I witnessed how these scams devastated victims and their families. The emotional weight of knowing I was being forced to deceive innocent people still stays with me today. My freedom finally came when Cambodian authorities raided the scam compound. After returning safely to Bangladesh, I decided not to remain silent. With the support of BRAC, I filed a criminal case against the trafficking network under Bangladesh's Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act. A Message to Global Policymakers: This story illustrates a growing form of gender-based forced criminality within cyber scam trafficking. Women are being exploited not only for their labor, but also for their identity, appearance, and voice to manipulate and deceive others. Governments, technology companies, international organizations, and law enforcement agencies must recognize these individuals as victims of human trafficking, strengthen survivor-centered identification and protection mechanisms, and work together to dismantle the transnational criminal networks behind these scam compounds.
From the Dream of a Job to a Cyber Scam Compound.
30 Days, 30 Voices.
Episode 1: From the Dream of a Job to a Cyber Scam Compound. "I did not go abroad to commit fraud. I left home in search of a decent job and a better future. But traffickers turned me into a tool of exploitation." Before leaving Bangladesh, I worked as a computer operator in a local market. It was not a high-paying job, but it allowed me to support my family with dignity. One day, a recruiter approached me with what seemed like a life-changing opportunity: a computer operator position at a supermarket in Cambodia with a monthly salary of USD 600. He assured me that everything would be processed legally through licensed recruitment channels and in accordance with government procedures. I believed him. I handed over my passport, paid approximately BDT 500,000, and received official migration clearance through a licensed recruitment agency. Everything appeared legitimate. But the moment I arrived in Cambodia, my dream collapsed. Instead of being admitted as a migrant worker, I was granted only a one-month tourist visa. At the airport, another Bangladeshi man collected me and took me to a guesthouse where more than twenty other Bangladeshis were waiting. We had all travelled with the same dream a decent job abroad. Within hours, I was sold for USD 2,000 to a Chinese-operated cyber scam compound. My passport was taken away, my freedom disappeared, and I was forced to participate in online scam operations targeting people in the United States and other developed countries. Using fake female identities, I followed scripted conversations to gain victims' trust before transferring them to other operators. If I failed to meet daily targets, I was taken to a torture room, physically assaulted, and subjected to electric shocks. For five months, I was not a criminal I was a victim of human trafficking who was forced to commit crimes against my will. Eventually, Cambodian authorities raided the compound. As the operators fled, we were finally rescued. Returning home did not end the trauma. Like many survivors, I continue to face stigma and misunderstanding. Too often, people see only the crime not the coercion behind it. Why This Story Matters: This story illustrates how organized trafficking networks are increasingly exploiting legitimate migration pathways. What appears to be legal recruitment can quickly become a trafficking operation involving deception, abuse, forced confinement, and Forced Criminality. Cyber scam trafficking is not simply an online fraud issue it is a rapidly evolving form of transnational human trafficking that demands stronger international cooperation, safer migration systems, and survivor-centered responses.
"My Name Wasn't My Identity at the Airport. My Code Was 'Tamarind.'"
30 Days, 30 Voices:
Episode 5: "My Name Wasn't My Identity at the Airport. My Code Was 'Tamarind.'" "The trafficker told me, 'When you reach immigration, don't say anything except one word: Tamarind.' I thought I was travelling for a hotel job. I didn't know I was already following the instructions of a human trafficking network." I worked at an automobile workshop in Dhaka before I was offered what appeared to be a legitimate hotel receptionist job in Cambodia. The recruiter promised a legal migration process, a good salary, and a better future. I trusted him. They collected my passport and USD 5,000, arranged my travel documents, and told me everything was legal. On the day of departure, the trafficker handed me my passport and ticket at the airport entrance along with a WhatsApp number. After I received my boarding pass, I was instructed to send them a photo of it. Then came the instruction I will never forget. "Go to immigration and say only one word: 'Tamarind.'" I followed the instruction without understanding why. Only later, after becoming a victim of trafficking, did I realize that the code word was part of how the trafficking network coordinated my journey from one handler to another. When I arrived in Cambodia, Bangladeshi traffickers were waiting for me at the airport. They took me to a guesthouse before selling me to a Chinese-controlled cyber scam compound. Within hours, my dream of overseas employment had become human trafficking. Inside the compound, I was forced to operate fake Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media accounts using a female identity. My job was to build trust with people in the United States, Canada, and Europe and collect their phone numbers so they could later be targeted for online scams. If I failed to meet my daily quota, I was taken to a torture room and physically abused. I remained trapped there for five months until Cambodian authorities raided the compound and we were finally rescued. After returning to Bangladesh, I filed criminal cases against the traffickers operating in both Bangladesh and Cambodia under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act. I still believe justice is possible. This story demonstrates that cyber scam trafficking does not always begin with forged documents or irregular migration. Increasingly, organized criminal networks exploit legitimate migration pathways while controlling victims through coordinated instructions, code words, and multiple facilitators along the journey. My experience raises an important question: How can someone travel through seemingly legitimate migration procedures and still end up being trafficked into a cyber scam compound?
I Was Forced to Create More Victims.
30 Days, 30 Voices:
Episode 3: I Was Forced to Create More Victims. "Every morning, I was given a new list of people to target. I knew they were innocent. But I also knew that if I failed to meet my quota, I would face another night of violence." I was only 21 when I left Bangladesh for what I believed was a legitimate computer operator job in Cambodia. I travelled through official migration channels with approved documents, believing I was starting a better future. Instead, I was sold for USD 2,000 to a Chinese-controlled cyber scam compound. There, I was forced to create fake female profiles on TikTok, Instagram, and dating platforms to target people in the United States and Canada. In just three months, I was coerced into collecting nearly 500 WhatsApp contacts for organized scam operations. I knew those people could become victims. But I had only two choices: help traffickers deceive others or become the next victim of torture. Whenever I failed to meet my target, I was beaten and subjected to electric shocks. I was not a fraudster. I was a victim of human trafficking who was forced to commit crimes against my will. Today, I ask the world: Please don't judge us only by what we were forced to do. Listen to what was done to us. This story reflects the growing reality of Forced Criminality, where trafficking victims are coerced into victimizing others under violence and control. A Call to Policymakers Cyber scam trafficking is no longer just cybercrime it is a global human trafficking crisis. Governments, international organizations, technology companies, and law enforcement must strengthen safe migration systems, improve cross-border cooperation, recognize victims of forced criminality as trafficking survivors, and hold trafficking networks accountable. How many more people must be trafficked and forced to create more victims before the world acts?
Episode 11: Behind the Walls of a Cyber Scam Compound.
30 Days, 30 Voices.
"When I left Bangladesh, I believed I was travelling legally for a job. Within days, I was sold into a Chinese-controlled cyber scam compound. My passport was legal. My documents were legal. But the system that was supposed to protect me failed." I travelled to Cambodia after being promised a legitimate overseas job through what appeared to be an official recruitment process. I was told everything had been completed according to government procedures. But when I arrived, I was issued only a one-month tourist visa instead of entering for the employment I had been promised. No company representative was waiting for me at the airport. Instead, members of a trafficking network took control of my journey. Within days, I was sold into a Chinese-controlled cyber scam compound. My passport, mobile phone, and personal documents were taken away. Every morning began with targets. We were forced to create fake identities on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and dating platforms to gain the trust of strangers. Every evening, our performance was measured by how many people we had contacted, how many phone numbers we had collected, and how many potential victims we had passed to the next stage of the scam. Failure meant punishment. People were beaten. Some were deprived of food or sleep. Others were taken into torture rooms. CCTV cameras monitored every movement, armed guards controlled every exit, and escaping seemed impossible. The hardest part was knowing that another innocent person could become a victim because I was being forced to continue. We were never employees. We were victims of human trafficking who were forced into criminal activities through violence, fear, and coercion. Even today, I still remember the walls of that compound, the surveillance cameras, and the torture rooms. At the same time, we must ask difficult questions about migration governance. How can workers who leave through apparently legal recruitment processes still end up being trafficked? Were the employers, recruitment agencies, workplaces, and job offers properly verified before departure? Those who abuse legal migration systems to traffic people must be identified, investigated, and held accountable. Weak oversight, poor verification, and lack of accountability create opportunities for organized criminal networks to exploit thousands of migrant workers. No worker should enter an airport believing they are leaving for a job, only to be sold into modern slavery.
Episode 12: They Interviewed Me Before They Sold Me.
30 Days, 30 Voices.
"I thought I had finally reached my new workplace. Instead, the interview was the final step before I was trapped inside a cyber scam compound." I travelled from Bangladesh believing I had secured a legitimate job. When I arrived in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, my broker told me that I first needed to attend an interview with the company. I felt relieved. It made everything seem genuine. Outside the company's gate, the broker took my photograph and sent it to a Chinese man. A few minutes later, a black car arrived carrying several Chinese nationals. One of them showed me the same photograph on his phone and asked if it was me. I nodded. They opened the gate and took me inside. The interview felt real. They tested my typing speed. They asked about my previous job in Bangladesh, my work experience, and how many hours I used to work each day. When the interview ended, they collected my passport and told me, "You will start work tomorrow. Your salary will be USD 800 per month." I believed I had finally achieved the dream that brought me overseas. The next morning, several Bangladeshi workers began teaching me how to do the job. That was the moment I realised I had not been recruited for a data entry position. I had been trafficked into a cyber scam compound. The work involved deceiving people online. When I said I could not do it, I was told something I will never forget: "If you leave this company, you must pay USD 2,000. If you want to stay alive, do the work properly." That was the moment I understood I was no longer free. The interview was never about giving me a job. It was about confirming that I was ready to be exploited. This experience demonstrates how trafficking networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They no longer rely only on deception during recruitment. They replicate legitimate employment processes including interviews, skills assessments, company premises, and employment promises to create the illusion of lawful work. This raises urgent questions. How can fake employers operate so convincingly? Who verifies the authenticity of overseas companies before workers depart? How many more migrant workers will pass through what appears to be a legitimate recruitment process before they disappear into cyber scam compounds? Human trafficking today often begins not with chains, but with what looks like a genuine job interview.
Episode 13: They Taught Me How the Scam Worked.
30 Days, 30 Voices
"The first thing they taught me inside the cyber scam compound wasn't how to use a computer. It was how to find the next victim." When people hear about cyber scam compounds, they often imagine rooms full of computers. I saw something very different. I saw an organised system where every trafficked person was assigned a role, every conversation followed a script, and every stage was designed to steal money from strangers. My job began with what the supervisors called the first stage. I was forced to create fake accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, and other social media platforms. Using prepared scripts, I sent hundreds of simple greetings every day. The objective was never friendship. It was to identify people who might respond. Once someone replied, I was instructed to build trust, learn about their personal life, and persuade them to continue the conversation on WhatsApp. That was when my role ended. The victim was then handed over to another team. Their job was different. They pretended to be wealthy investors who claimed they had escaped poverty through online investment and passive income. They encouraged people to invest a small amount of money. At first, victims were shown fake profits and allowed to withdraw small amounts to build confidence. Then they were persuaded to invest much larger sums. Once the money was transferred, it disappeared. The investment platforms themselves were controlled by the criminal network. Inside the compound, failure was never accepted. If we failed to meet daily targets, people were beaten, locked in small rooms, denied food, threatened, or sold to another scam compound. Fear became part of our daily routine. That is why I want the world to understand something important. I was never trained to become a scammer. I was forced to become one. I was a survivor of human trafficking who was exploited through violence, coercion, and fear.
Anyone affected by human trafficking, child marriage, or gender-based violence directly, or on behalf of a family member. Our services are free and survivor-led.
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Supported by
Working alongside NGO partners across Bangladesh to end human trafficking and exploitation.
- Winrock International
- IJM
- GSN
- Survivor Alliance
- GAHTS