‘Indians were slaves in American kitchens’

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."

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

He said the MEA, "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 1500 ex-servicemen were transhipped to Iraq despite a ban on sending people to that country, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha had 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".

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=31066#compstory

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 (about R11 700) each for visas to Kuwait in August 2003. 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 their camp was attacked by Iraqi militia, 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 (about R1 800) 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 Mumbai 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 former 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. - Sapa-dpa

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=2813&art_id=qw108365706186B262&click_id=2813&set_id=1

Indians in Iraq: Centre orders probe


Monday, 03 May , 2004, 17:34

New Delhi: India on Monday said it has ordered a probe into reports that private security agencies have illegally hired 1,500 ex-combat troops as private guards to protect installations in Iraq.
Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said his ministry had asked the labour ministry to launch an inquiry "and take appropriate action against agencies which had fraudulently taken these men without valid documents."

"These men were originally permitted to go to Jordan and Kuwait," Sinha told a news conference in Chennai city after the CPM accused his government of sending "mercenaries" in the guise of job-seekers to Iraq.

New Delhi on April 15 banned Indian citizens from travelling to Iraq because of deteriorating security there and the bar would only be lifted once the situation improved, Sinha said.

Before the ban came into force, the foreign ministry permitted some Indian companies to send 360 men to safeguard their offices in Iraq, he added.

Reports in the media said the ex-soldiers applied for permits to work in Kuwait and Jordan but travelled instead to Iraq. India has turned down US requests to send a military contingent to the war-torn country, saying it could only do so if the United Nations called for an international peacekeeping force.

The Communist Party of India accused the government of allowing the ex-soldiers to work in Iraq following pressure from the United States and labelled the former servicemen "mercenaries."

Mumbai-based Trig Guard Force, the privately-run security agency which has admitted recruiting ex-soldiers as guards in Iraq, said it has stopped the deployment because of the worsening situation there.

"Most companies there prefer Indian security agencies as we offer services at less than half the price," said chief executive Swaran Salaria.

Military sources said at least two other security agencies had hired ex-soldiers to work in Iraq.

http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13467274

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".

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