Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

Herein lies the problem that can lead to trafficking for exploitative labour:
the worker may indeed know that the contract is a fake but will still travel,
having been deceived by his employer, agent, relatives or friends about the
legality of working for another employer. The problem is exacerbated by the
ready availability of visas, allowing the recruitment of workers beyond the
demand for labour in the destination countries; as a result, many workers
who have migrated find themselves with irregular status and working in
exploitative conditions. The same embassy official explained: “Our people
call it the Azad visa, meaning free or open visa. It’s famous in Pakistan, and
people think they can work anywhere with that visa.” Egyptian construction
workers in Kuwait taking part in a focus group discussion stated: “Some
of us didn’t know the contract was fake until we got here. Others knew it
was fake, but had to come anyway because the situation in Egypt is awful.”
This deception, coupled with coercion once in work and the impossibility of
leaving the employer, creates victims of human trafficking for forced labour.
Such deceptive practices can be highly profitable for intermediaries, as the
workers are asked to pay not only for their initial residency and work permits,
but also for the renewal of these permits. In Bahrain, an official from the
Migrant Workers Protection Society explained: “The initial purchase costs
of a ‘free’ visa are 1,000 Bahraini dinar [BHD: US$2,650]. Then the visa
seller will charge the worker additional fees to renew the visa every two
years and he is in a position to dictate his price, usually charging far more
than the actual cost of renewal. If the worker cannot pay, his visa expires
and he becomes an illegal resident, his passport may also expire and he may
become undocumented. The ‘free’ visa situation is widespread in Bahrain.”
The MWPS has also learned from the Embassy of Bangladesh that it has
more than 30,000 nationals working under such conditions with no rights
whatsoever. 237
Yet such practice of requiring the worker to pay out of pocket these expenses is
against the national laws. In Jordan, the employer must cover the fees payable
for the worker’s employment permit. 238 Similar national laws in Kuwait and
the UAE stipulate that it is the responsibility of the employer to bear the cost
of the worker’s work and residency permits. 239 In fact, the business exchanges
related to securing the necessary residency and work permits in the country
237
Email correspondencewith an official from the Migrant Workers Protection Society,
Bahrain, 25 Sep. 2012.
238
Jordan, Instructions for the Conditions and Procedures of Bringing and Employing
Non-Jordanian Workers in the Qualified Industrial Zones, issued by virtue of the
provisions of article 4 of the Regulation of the Fees of the Employment Permits for
Non-Jordanian Workers, No. 36, and its amendments, 1997, art. 6(a).
239
Kuwait, Ministerial Order No. 115, 1996, art. 10; UAE Ministerial Resolution No.
1188, 2010, regarding the regulations and conditions of issuing internal work
permits, art. 9.
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