Thai Slavery In The Middle East

[mora]

mora u missed the point, ...

Yes I did but so did u...

I guess the fact we respond way after midnight causing us to skip some details. I already mentioned I live in Thailand since 1990 so I’m not a backpacker after the army…

I will be 44 as well in few days and already done more then most.

I will try to contact you off this thread with some more operative info and ideas…

[bina]

yup, missed the age thing by a long shot......). got the pm... havnt a clue how to skype (maybe i should learn?)....

just a last post on oour own thingy

anon's employer tried to foist the visa fee (that wasnt needing to be paid but the company demanded it so he said) on anon's salary (- 400 shekels what is he crazy) so i went all assertive and told the guy it was illegal; suddenly he changed his tune, which makes me think there wasnt a 400 shekel fee after all... scumbags alll....

will now continue with mora offline and the thread can go back to muslems and slavery. just out of curiousity can it be that in the far past, most muslem countries kept slaves of one sort or an other as the countries were kingdoms and not democracies? just hasarding a guess.

bina

[bangkokrick]

I have visited the middle east on numerous occasions and i have been very disturbed by what i have seen regarding the overseas workers. Most of these overseas workers that i have met have been given a 2 year contract working in the 'land of milk and honey'. They soon find out that the 2 year contract say for a factory worker will become an open ended contract working in a brothel.

The way this works is that the local Arab business owners sponsor the overseas workers for a designated period of time and pay a sponsorship fee to engage them in work in the Middle East. This is normally organised through an agent.

When the workers arrive they are taken to the factories/brothels and they have their passports taken from them until they can repay the sponsorship money to their sponsor. Of course they can never pay off the sponsorship money because of the interest charges. They have nowhere to go and no one to complain to and they are screwed without a passport.

I have seen this and i have spoken to people that are actually in this terrible position so i know that it exists. I can not believe just how hypocritical the Arab muslims can be as this goes against all of their so called beliefs.

Slavery report

Just curious rick, how do you get to speak to these paople that have had thier passports taken from them and are kept locked away from the outside world. I may be wrong but reading betwen the lines I would assume(and only and assumption) that you met them in the said brothel in which case you are the vey reason for them being in that situation. Now before you jump down my throat and rip my heart out, i may well be incorrect in this assumption and duly apologise.

Also, i know you have posted otherwise, but when you say "just how hypocritical the Arab muslims can be" it does indeed imply that all arab muslims(which is the vast majority of arabs) are hypocritical. Some certainly will be, and they may well be the ones crossing the causeway from Dharan to Bahrain to attend a brothel but certainly doesn't mean that another 50 million are doing the same.

Be curious. I work as a consultant for a company that implements manufacturing systems throughout the world. I train the management and the direct workers in the use of the manufacturing system so therefore have to communicate with them at all levels. I have been in conversations regarding this subject on many occasions and i find it totally unacceptable. I have simce refused any contracts in the Middle East because i feel so strongly about this. I did not say that it was all muslims and i did not say that all the overseas workers end up in brothels.

As for using the brothels go and wash your mouth out.

[lotus eater]

I would hazard a guess that there are 10 times as many 'indentured' prostitutes from thailand (and other poor countries) in europe as in the states of the persian gulf.

And perhaps a 1000 times as many europeans/americans who travel as sex tourists to exploit the women (sometimes even childrn) of these poor (ie cheap) countries as do arabs.

Neither of these things tars everyone from either of these groups of countries. It should be possible to speak out on the crimes and misdemeanors without sinking into ignorant and distasteful racist or religious vitriol.

[Oleg_Rus]

A lot of Burmese, and Cambodian people are lured here also and treated like animals by Thais, so maybe its karma?

Man, I just can't stop buying copyrights of your posts !

Can I use this one too ?

How did you get those ? Truly, one phrase wraped (concluded - sorry for my English) all conversation.

[WaiWai]

Glimpsed a headline on BBC TV this evening on this topic - is there a program they're going to air or was there something in the news on this matter ?

Looked at their website but didn't see anything current there.

However, there are a huge number of archived articles on the subject on the BBC site; well worth a look if you have some time.

Noticed the following interesting details in a longer article :

Sex trade

According to a report last year by UNODC, countries that were major sources of trafficked persons included Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US were the most common destinations, the report said.

There are no exact statistics on the number of people affected globally.

But according to UNODC, experts believe that some 2.5 million people throughout the world are at any given time the victims of human trafficking.

Many of these are women and young girls forced to work in the sex industry, while others are men forced to work as labourers in dangerous conditions for little or no pay, the UN agency said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6497799.stm

Thailand is both one of the most common sources AND one of the most common destinations.

Edited May 14, 2007 by WaiWai

[sonnyJ]

Does it make Thailand the hub of inhumane-rights?

[WaiWai]

Does it make Thailand the hub of inhumane-rights?

It would seem so .

I wonder which country/countries the people coming into Thailand are from ?

[Humphrey Bear]

I have worked all over the world (construction - power stations; refineries; petro-chem; hospitals and various other projects) for more than 30 years.

I have my family in Thailand, have worked in Thailand (Suvarnabhumi, Thai Oil refinery).

My current job has worker camps with approaching 30,000 men already in position, another 15,000 at peak. All nationalities (except Thai - this is Saudi - no Thai workers welcome).

If these men come in with a genuine contractor, then they are well looked after (in comparative terms). If they sign up with a local labour supplier, then they will have some sort of accommodation (maybe six or eight to a room, maybe hot-bedding, maybe communal washing facilities with 100 men to a sink or toilet). All must be registered with the government, issued with Iqama (residence / work permit) and surrender their passport. This is Saudi Government regulations.

Most problems come with the domestic servant labour market. This is where the girls are employed. And abused - sometimes horrendously.

My knowledge is mainly from Filipina and Indonesian girls. where many have been physically and sexually abused by the employing householder or members of his family. These girls take unacceptable risks in working in most Middle Eastern countries (and Singapore is no better).

From 1996 to 2000 I was in Jeddah and with my (then) Filipina girlfriend we got nearly 200 girls into the safety of their Consulates, where the diplomats negotiated repatriation deals with the Saudi authorities.

You must remeber though that there is still unofficial, unobserved slavery in Saudi. One Coastguard officer I used to know had a Somali stowaway in tow - that he said would never be freed. And people overstay from their Hadj journeys and get caught in similar situations. Not jailed, just taken over by an official to work for them for the rest of their lives.

Sign on with a reputable company and you will be well looked after. Sign with an unknown local company and you will probably wind up in grief.

[Humphrey Bear]

I have visited the middle east on numerous occasions and i have been very disturbed by what i have seen regarding the overseas workers. Most of these overseas workers that i have met have been given a 2 year contract working in the 'land of milk and honey'. So far you are correct. They soon find out that the 2 year contract say for a factory worker will become an open ended contract working in a brothel.A wild leap that is not correct.

The way this works is that the local Arab business owners sponsor the overseas workers for a designated period of time and pay a sponsorship fee to engage them in work in the Middle East. Again broadly correct - even when you work for a major international oil company you must have a local sponsor in Saudi and UAE. This is normally organised through an agent. Yes, it can be.

When the workers arrive they are taken to the factories/brothels WHAT?? and they have their passports taken from them (Government regulation) until they can repay the sponsorship money to their sponsor (complete rubbish - what sponsorship money?). Of course they can never pay off the sponsorship money because of the interest charges (There are no interest charges in an Islamic Bank) . They have nowhere to go and no one to complain to and they are screwed without a passport.

I have seen this and i have spoken to people that are actually in this terrible position so i know that it exists. Don't believe everything you are told by people who are having to work hard for the first time in their lives. I can not believe just how hypocritical the Arab muslims can be as this goes against all of their so called beliefs (Now that is a naughty statement)

This guy has a very simplistic view. I have posted above on my experiences.

Yes, there is bad treatment - very bad treatment. But if the overseas worker goes through a good agent, then the end result is usually a good job with financial benefits to offset the hard conditions.

When I was working on Suvarnabhumi Airport and saw the conditions that the local workers endured, I can say that in every overseas posting my workers have had better conditions than seen in Lat Krabang.