Indians claim abuse in Iraq military camps

[RPankn]

4 May 2004


NEW DELHI - A group of 20 Indians who ran away from a United States military camp in Iraq, where they worked in the kitchen, claim they were abused for nine months, it was reported on Tuesday.

The men from southern Kerala state paid 75,000 rupees (1,700 US dollars) each for visas to Kuwait last August. They were cheated by employment agents and landed in Baghdad.

One man, Hameed, said they were taken to a US military camp in Mosul where they were told that they had been bought to work in the kitchen, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

“We were slaves in the American kitchens. We barely got two hours of sleep. Any slip-ups and we were tortured for days,” Hameed said.

While Hameed alleged they were often used as shields when Iraqi militia attacked their camp, his brother Shahjahan said they were forced to cook pork despite being Muslim.

The men said they were not allowed to call or write home, but were told 12,000 rupees (268 US dollars) would be sent to India every month. They got their chance to escape when their camp was attacked at the end of April. An Iraqi truck driver took them to Baghdad from where they travelled to Fallujah, Jordan, Doha, finally arriving in Bombay on April 28.

In a separate incident, two Indians died and another was injured in an attack on a US base, where they were working as security guards, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

The Indian government has expressed concern about the estimated 1,500 Indian ex-servicemen who were sent to Iraq through private security agencies, and is considering a law to regulate the agencies.

External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha has said the government would probe how these men were sent to Iraq, despite a ban on people going to Iraq .


Link: [a href="[http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2004/May/subcontinent_May84.xml§ion=subcontinent"][http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2004/May/subcontinent_May84.xml§ion=subcontinent[/a]


India Asks U.S. for Workers' Information

May 4, 4:33 PM (ET)


NEW DELHI (AP) - India asked the United States for information Tuesday on reports that Indian nationals were being forced to work for contractors in Iraq with little rest and low pay and held "against their will."

The Ministry of External Affairs asked the U.S. Embassy for details on the number of Indians working in Iraq, a ministry spokesman said.

The ministry "expressed its concern regarding the disturbing reports about the conditions in which some Indian nationals are being forced to work for contractors active in Iraq," a statement said.

The embassy was asked about news reports "that Indians who wished to leave were unable to do so, and were being compelled to continue to remain in Iraq against their will," the statement said.

In Washington, a State Department official confirmed that Indian officials had been in contact with the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. The official said the embassy was seeking additional information about the allegations by the Indian workers.

Indian newspapers reported that Indians in Jordan and Kuwait were recruited for jobs in U.S. military camps in Iraq as cooks, butchers, laundry workers and handymen.

Four workers who said they had escaped from a camp in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul alleged they were made to labor for long hours with little rest and low pay, and were refused permission to leave, Press Trust of India news agency said.

The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi was investigating, Press Trust quoted an embassy official as saying.


Link: apnews.myway.com/article/20040504/D82BVS300.html

[RPankn]

Are Indians slaving in Iraq? Delhi asks US

PTI[ TUESDAY, MAY 04, 2004 06:08:55 PM ]


NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday expressed concern over "disturbing reports" about the conditions in which some of its nationals are being forced to work in Iraq and requested the US Embassy here for details of those compelled to remain in the war-ravaged country against their will.

In response to queries, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman said, "The US Embassy was requested for information about the numbers of such Indian nationals known to have been employed in this manner, and also about the accounts that Indians who wished to leave were unable to do so, and were being compelled to continue to remain in Iraq against their will.

"This is in follow up to similar contacts by Indian Embassies with the authorities concerned in Baghdad, Amman and Kuwait," the spokesman said.

He said the MEA "today expressed its concern regarding the disturbing reports about the conditions in which some Indian nationals are being forced to work for contractors active in Iraq".

Following reports that about 1,500 ex-servicemen were transhipped to Iraq despite a ban on sending people to that country, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha had yesterday announced in Chennai that a probe was being ordered into it.

The Indian Government had banned sending people to Iraq from April 15 as the security deteriorated in that country. The minister had made it clear that the ban would be lifted only after the security situation improved in that country.

Four Keralites, who were "cheated" by job agents and taken to a US military camp in Iraq, managed to escape recently narrated their nine-month-long ordeal in the camp as slaves.

One of them said "We were slaves in American kitchens".


Link: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/658740.cms

[RPankn]

India News: Indian back home after slogging in Iraq for US troops (LEADS)
4-May-2004


Thiruvananthapuram, India : A 32-year-old Indian butcher is finally back home, after slaving away for nine months in a US military camp in Iraq where he ended up although travel agents had promised him a job in Kuwait.

Aliyarkunju Faizal is today grateful to god for saving him from what he says was a nightmarish experience from which he feared he would never be able to escape.

Faizal told IANS in a telephonic interview that he was kicked and beaten by American soldiers who forced him to work for long hours daily and made him cook pork in violation of his Islamic beliefs.

Stung by the charges, the US embassy in New Delhi promised to investigate the allegations of torture and illegal detention of Indian workers by the US military in Iraq.

"We are looking into them," an embassy spokesman told IANS. "We take all reports of abuse seriously and all allegations of mistreatment are investigated.

"We are committed to treating all persons under coalition authority with dignity, respect and humanity."

But the embassy's comments are no relief to Faisal, whose story began some 10 months ago when he left for Kuwait after paying Rs.75,000 for a visa. It was a princely sum he raised by selling his wife's jewellery in the hope of making a decent income in Kuwait.

But once Faizal, who hails from Chathanoor near Kollam, reached Kuwait he was told that he would have to work in Iraq.

"I had no option but to listen to what my employer told me. I was not alone; there were three other youths from my village too.

"We were taken by bus from Kuwait and reached Talafar near Baghdad. Only then were we told that we would have to work as helpers in the American military kitchen to prepare food for American soldiers," said Faizal, speaking to IANS.

"Our work was very strenuous. We had to slog from early morning until late at night. We were under constant supervision of Americans, who used to abuse us and physically abuse us if we were seen taking rest even after heavy work.

"We just could not register our protest. The only complaint we could make was to our company people. We told them to send us back, but they would say 'yes' but do nothing," said Faizal.

"I was promised 60 Kuwaiti dinars, which was around Rs.9,000. But when I called up home I was told that all they received every month was Rs.4.500. I just couldn't stand this and felt enough was enough and decided to get back at any cost."

But the worst was yet to come - and it happened during the holy month of Ramadan.

The soldiers asked Faizal and the other Indians to cook pork. When they protested saying as Muslims they were forbidden to cook or eat pork, the troops made it clear that they would not get paid otherwise.

"They made us cut pork and cook it, which is against my religion. But we prayed to Allah and did everything because I knew if I did not do it, I might never see my three children and wife," recalled the man.

Finally, his employers relented and agreed to send him back to India. But that did not happen easily.

"For one month we waited in Baghdad. Every day we were told we would leave the next day. We did not lose hope. Most of the time I was praying.

"Finally we were put on a bus to Jordan and from there on a plane to Mumbai and from there I travelled to my house in Kerala on April 30."

Faizal's wife Sophida said: "Allah is great. He gave me back my husband and never ever will we think of going to the Middle East. We will be happy with what we have here."

Agrees Faizal, who has resumed his work as a butcher.

"I will work hard and repay my debts but I am really happy I am back. I will not think of leaving my wife and children ever again," he said.

Also Tuesday, Hindustan Times reported that two other Indians from Kerala suffered a similar fate in Iraq and that American soldiers virtually holding them let them sleep for just two hours every day.

"We were slaves in American kitchens. We barely got two hours of sleep. Any slip-ups and we were tortured for days," it quoted one of the men, identified as Hameed, as saying.

Hameed claimed he escaped and returned to Kerala after the barrack where he was put up was attacked by the anti-US Iraqi militia.

The Americans in the camp told the Indians that they had "bought" them for a hefty amount and that they would have to work in the kitchen and do other odd jobs.



Indo-Asian News Service


Link: www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=35300

[Moses]

I think that this is just the sort of arrangement that they have in mind for all of us.