Under the hot midday sun, Manny (not his real name) makes a plea for help.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI am very weak right now and unable to breathe because I have asthma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cTake a look. I live on a boat and it\u2019s very hot,\u201d he says in a video recording, lifting up a tarp he\u2019s using to shade himself and panning his mobile phone to show the vessel he\u2019s on. \u201cIn our cabin it\u2019s really hot and there isn\u2019t air-conditioning. So please help me, so that I can go to the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
In 2019, Manny left the Philippines to work as a fisher on the Da Wang, a Taiwan-owned and Vanuatu-flagged high seas commercial fishing vessel. He hoped that this new opportunity would earn him enough to provide for his family. But instead of receiving a fair wage for his labour, he says he became a victim of human trafficking. During his time aboard the Da Wang he reports having witnessed his mates enduring physical abuse, with one incident being particularly brutal.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe first mate in the captain\u2019s cabin would watch us work. If the first mate saw our now-deceased mate not working, or not working well enough, he would come down and start hitting him directly,\u201d he says solemnly.<\/p>\n\n