She ‘wants to die there.’ The women forced to scam and the families left behind

All the names of women have been changed at their request to protect their identity. Manila, Philippines —

An hour north of the city, where urban sprawl gives way to hills, a boy in a Batman shirt waits by the front of his family’s small convenience store.

Eagerly, he accompanies us past the candy, snacks and lottery tickets, to the simple living space at the rear.

He tells us his name, that he is three years old, and he misses his mom.

The boy’s aunt Rose and his grandparents have been looking after him and his younger brother since April, when their mother, Lily, took what she thought was a customer service job in Taiwan.

Instead, Lily became one of hundreds of thousands of people who have been trafficked to work in the heart of Asia’s notorious scam industry. For months, Lily