Employment brokers are lobbying for job opportunities for young women displaced by the fighting in Myanmar’s Chin State.

A Mindat resident told Mizzima that brokers are more interested in young women than men.

“The so-called maid service in Dubai is now popular. For the girls in my surroundings, the broker pays the total cost of a girl to go to Dubai who plans to go and work as a maid. If a girl gets a job, she has to pay her monthly salary for four months to the brokers. Accommodation in Yangon is also arranged by the brokers," the resident said.

There is a two-tier employment system in place for cleaning work in Dubai.

The broker takes responsibility for living expenses for about six months from the time the girls from rural areas leave home for Yangon before going to Dubai. Upon arrival in Dubai, those who pass the job exam will be allowed to work as part of a cleaning team in supermarkets and buildings, and those who do not pass the exam have to work as housemaids in houses.

A Chin man working in Dubai expressed his concern about the exodus of young women from battle-scarred Chin State.

"I do not want the girls from my Chin State to come to Dubai at all if possible. This country is very rude. And the Dubai brokers are completely unbelievable. Now it's very difficult to get a job in Dubai. Due to the religious festival month, there will be a shortage of jobs for four months,” he said.

“It is very difficult to work as a maid because of differences in religion and the language barrier. The worst job in Dubai is being a maid for girls. The monthly salary is around 600,000 Myanmar Kyat (about US$340) for a good job,” he noted.

Chin State is an impoverished state, badly his by the fighting between the Myanmar military and resistance groups.

Most Chin people who leave to find work abroad do so illegally, working primarily in Thailand and Malaysia. Now there are said to be a lot of people leaving the country to work legally with passports.

"If possible, we do not want women to come. But they are losing their way in the country. Those who went to school do not know what to do because of the current political situation. So, those who can afford it are asked to attend speaking training courses in Yangon and then go to find jobs in Singapore and Japan. People who can't afford it are more likely to go to brokers and go with debt consolidation," a Chin woman living in Yangon said.

Currently, it costs around 3 million Myanmar Kyat (about US$1,700) to go to Singapore and if the person goes with debt, your salary will be cut for six months. For Dubai, the salary will be cut for four months.

Young women from Falam, Mindat, Matupi, and Kale townships from Chin State are trying to leave the country due to the current hardships.