So we hear a lot about how countries liek Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia etc use slave labor because people from Africa, india, pakistan, bangladesh or whatever come over to work and then they live in horrible conditions and their employers steal their passports so they can’t leave. How does this stop anyone from leaving?
I know for a fact that if you lose a US passport while you are abroad you can go to the embasssy and report it lost and they print an emergency passport which can be used to leave the country. Yesterday i was at an airport in Poland and someone from Italy or something had his passport stolen and he used some document printed by the embassy allowing him to leave. Do countries like india or pakistan or whatever not have these? I get maybe its dificult for africans since many african countries only have a few embassies abroad in other countries or they might not offer many services but can these people who are “enslaved” not just go to their embassies and explain the situation so they can leave teh country? Do their countries just not give a shit that they’re being “enslaved?” I understnad that Gambia or Guinea Bisseau can’t stand up to the UAE but surely India or Pakistan can.
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In the UAE you can’t leave without your companies or husband’s permission and if you don’t have a passport you are simply arrested or detained at the border.
It’s also not like there’s an embassy of every country on every street corner. There’s usually only one per country. Good luck getting there from a random spot in the desert without money or ID and while potentially even being physically prevented from leaving your workplace.
People often are deliberately misinformed by their captors that being in the country illegally comes with a harsh punishment or imprisonment. If the captives don’t speak/read the language of the land well, they may not be able to find out otherwise.
I am a lawyer and used to represent human trafficking victims. There is a pipeline from southeast asia through the middle east, and then to major metropolitan areas in the US, mostly of domestic workers but also sex trafficking, who are coerced into coming over to work to send money back home. But once they arrive, passports taken for “safe keeping”, then paid nothing for 24/7 labor and told if they run to authorities they will be put in jail as illegally in the country. They often dont speak english and have no way of contacting family at home, and of course don’t know anyone here. There are AMAZING organizations, usually based around country of origin, that help identify and assist these individuals, connect them with pro bono lawyers (like me). People have no idea its happening. You have probably seen trafficked folks if you were around large numbers of domestic workers in DC or NYC for example. Its so bad the state department considered revoking visas for domestic workers for diplomats coming from the middle east at some point. Its real and its super evil.
The people recruited for these jobs are often illiterate and unaware of the niceties of international diplomacy. They’re told that if they ‘go to the authorities’ they’ll be arrested and thrown in prison.
I can imagine how the Pakistani embassy in Dubai would treat an impoverished day laborer or sexually exploited maid who made it to their doorstep. It probably wouldn’t involve a cup of tea and a sympathetic ear.
Can’t go anywhere, no money, no food. In a foreign land where you only know the one person.
Those people go to the gulf countries because they’ll earn far more money than they ever would back home. It’s not like these people are dumb. It’s just that the pros outweigh the cons, the money that they can send back to their family is worth more than their passport being taken away and shitty.
The way you’re looking at it is as if these people are ignorant third worlders that hop on a plane and have no clue where they’re going. You seriously think they don’t know what’s going on? Word spreads back home, they know the passports get taken away, they know the work conditions are shit but the money makes it worth it. They are fully aware of their predicament, more than you’d ever be. No one is trying to run to the embassy to leave. Embassy isn’t going to give them money to support their family.
I have lost a passport abroad once.
My embassy required my birth certificate and another form of ID in order to print me a document saying I could fly home. I had to have my family fedex me my BC. I had to fly to the city that had the embassy, I then had to pay $100USD for that little paper allowing me to fly. Not a new passport. Just a paper allowing me to fly. I spoke the local language fluently. I was not taught to fear the police or threatened with immigration/deportation. My family back home was not being threatened. I had money to cover the travels, documents and mailings required. I also had another form of ID. I was not illegally living or working in the country I lost my passport in.
Now imagine if any of those situations changed. Would I have been able to get the paper needed to fly home?
Most countries allow you to travel back to your home country if you can prove your nationality with a photo copy of your stolen or lost passport.
The problem with these migrant workers from poor countries is that they don’t have the freedom to just travel whenever they want. It costs them months, if not years, of work to be able to afford a ticket back home. So they don’t have the freedom that you think.
I’m not condoning the practice of employers keeping their employees passports’ btw just pointing this out for some additional nuance.
I believe workers rights are improving in those countries as their economies develop and their regulatory frameworks mature.
The workplace may put them In a shitty facility thats either locked or under guard when their not working. They certainly wouldn’t give you the opportunity to easily get new documents. Also, if you went there to work, and they’re witholding your payment to avoid you leaving, how will you afford it? Not everyone has someone who can help them money wise. So without documents or money, they end up as slaves. Not «slaves».
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