Migrant Workers Stranded in Baghdad

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq– On December 5, Iraqi security forces stormed a warehouse at Baghdad airport, using tear gas and smoke grenades to forcibly remove dozens of migrant workers from the premises for deportation.  The migrant workers had been lured to Iraq three months earlier by recruiters for a defense contractor who promised the men jobs.

Last week, during a visit to the warehouse by Iraqi immigration officials, a riot broke out when the migrants protested their poor treatment by throwing bottles and stones at the officials.  In response, Iraqi security guards opened fire shooting into the air to silence the protest.

According to the workers, the recruiting agents guaranteed them jobs with Najlaa International Catering Services, a subcontractor to US defense company Kellog Brown and Root (KBR).  The workers, mostly men from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Uganda, claim that the recruiting agents charged them between $3,000 and $5,000 to travel to Iraq.  Before leaving their homes many of the migrants sold their property and other valuables to raise the money to make the trip. 

Around 600 of the migrants have been kept in derelict warehouse at the Baghdad airport for months, while the remaining 400 have been living in a “make-shift” camp nearby.  They are provided with little food, have little access to working showers, and are forced to sleep four to a bed.  According to a spokesman for Najlaa International, to maintain their safety and prevent kidnappings, they are not permitted to leave the warehouse.  When reporters attempted to gain access to the facility, they were ordered away from the area by armed Iraqi security forces.

Several of the Ugandan workers claim they have been handcuffed and beaten by Iraqi police.  One man claims the Iraqi  police told him, “If you are here for the US, we’re going to show you the difference between the US government and the Iraqi government.”  The Iraqi police have not responded to the allegations of abuse.

The migrants are currently stranded in Iraq.  They are unable to remain in the country because of their visa status and cannot afford to make the return trip back to their home countries.   The workers claim they were tricked into handing their passports and visas over to the Iraqi security forces earlier this month, after being assured that Najlaa International required their information in order to pay them.  The passports were not returned and the paychecks not forthcoming, which led to speculation among the migrants that they were going to be forcibly deported from Iraq without payment.

Najlaa International denies allegations that it confined migrant workers to a warehouse where they were forced to live in dire conditions and kept there without pay.  According to Marwan Rezk, General Manager of Najlaa International, “They are living in a decent environment, provided three meals a day, showers and latrine facilities.”  Rezk maintains that the workers are well cared for and are temporarily residing in airport housing facilities while awaiting assignments on US bases.  Rezk further claims that the migrant workers’ contracts stipulate that they are only to be paid once they begin to work.

While the US military is looking into the matter, the conditions that the workers have been living in since they arrived in Iraq appear to be in violation of US military guidelines.  The guidelines were passed in 2006 to encourage defense contractors to deter human trafficking in Iraq.  In addition to regulating recruiters, the guidelines stipulate “minimum acceptable” living spaces and require companies to fulfill their contract obligations with employees.  Additionally, seizing passports and visas is a violation of the guidelines. 

According to KBR, it does not condone such unethical behavior, and was not involved in this recruiting scam.  The company has stated it plans “to remediate the problem and report the matter to the proper authorities.”  The company is already the target of other lawsuits involving allegations of human trafficking.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Workers in Iraq Say Scores of Them Removed by Force – 5 December 2008

CNN – Stranded Workers in Iraq: Recruiters Duped Us – 4 December 2008

ISS – Migrant Workers in Iraq Riot Over Treatment by KBR Subcontractor – 4 December 2008

Times UK – Iraqi Guards Open Fire as Migrants Riot About Deportation – 4 December 2008

AP – KBR Subcontractor Denies Confining Workers in Iraq – 3 December 2008

Author: Impunity Watch Archive