'Human trafficking' of foreign workers in US state

[starroute]

Source: Raw Story

A month ago Monday, a group of guest workers from India placed a frantic 3:00 am phone call to Saket Soni, lead organizer for the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice. The workers said that armed security guards were holding some workers prisoner in the TV room of the Signal International Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the company's 290 welders and pipe fitters live.

The men told Soni that Signal International – a sub-contractor for mammoth defense contractor Northrop Grumman – had staged a pre-dawn raid and that six Indian workers had been detained in the “TV room,” flanked by security guards, one of whom carried a gun. About 200 other Indian employees at Signal were standing outside the room.

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But the bigger story is in the details: These 290 Indians paid upwards of $15,000 each to travel to America, lured by the promises of a Mississippi sheriff’s deputy.

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The Indian workers recruited by Signal International paid on average between $15,000 and $20,000 to Pol. For some, the sum represented their life savings. The six workers who face deportation are terrified of returning to India, where they now face loan sharks and the disappointment of their families.

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Human_trafficking_of_Indian_guest_workers_0412.html

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This is from a Raw Story exclusive by Lindsay Beyerstein and Larisa Alexandrovna. I don't know why it hasn't gotten more attention, but I don't see it anywhere in LBN, and it's worthy of notice.

[woodsprite]

1. Just like the Mariana's. The Repubs went over there to learn how to do it. n/t