Marcel’s Story

Marcel* is from Madagascar. For many years, he has worked as a mechanic as well as a bus and taxi driver to provide for his wife Ana and his two sons. In 2018, he began working in a neighbouring country for an employer known to him as Andre. Not too long after he started working for Andre, he was instructed to carry a suitcase of tortoises to Hong Kong.

Andre told him that there was no problem in taking the tortoises to Hong Kong and arranged the flight for Marcel. He also let him know that he made preparations for someone to pick Marcel up when he arrived in Hong Kong.

Upon arrival at the Hong Kong airport, Marcel was apprehended by immigration officers who held him while his luggage was checked. He was arrested for trafficking endangered species and realised that he had been deceived by his employer. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

Andre was furious when he discovered that Marcel was not able to successfully carry out the transport of the tortoises to his business partners in Hong Kong, resulting in large financial loss for Andre. To take revenge, Andre, who is a well-connected and wealthy businessman in Madagascar, began harassing Marcel’s wife Ana and his two sons. He framed Ana, causing her to be falsely imprisoned by the Malagasy authoritiess in order to conceal his illicit business operations.

Marcel himself received death threats. Knowing that he would face serious harm if he returned to Madagascar, Marcel made an application to receive non-refoulement protection in Hong Kong. Sadly, his application was rejected and the immigration department detained him pending removal.

HKDI took steps to not only achieve his release from detention but also to protect Marcel and the rest of his family from further harm. This included submitting additional information strengthening his claim for protection from removal as well as requesting a screening to assess if he was a victim of trafficking and required assistance as such. We are still waiting on the relevant decisions from the authorities.

*Identity Protected