TEL AVIV - Migrant workers in Israel’s agriculture sector are among the most exploited, according to a 28 October report by Kav LaOved, an Israeli NGO campaigning for the rights of disadvantaged workers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ninety percent of such workers work more hours than allowed under Israeli law, without overtime payments, said the report, which has been presented to members of parliament.
The report summarizes hundreds of complaints by agricultural workers and dozens of inspections by Kav LaOved volunteers at work sites around the country, and paints a grim picture of systematic exploitation and severe violations of workers’ rights in the agricultural sector.
Hanna Zohar, Kav LaOved director, said the workers, mostly Thai, are completely unaware of their rights.
“Having paid US$8-10,000 to work in Israel, they are prime material for abuse by the farmers, as they are afraid to lose their jobs and not able to pay off the loans taken to cover these payments to the middlemen,” Zohar said.
read more @ middle east online
2. sleeping rough at 12 - the boys who dreamt of Britian
Dozens of children – sent from Afghanistan by their parents in the hope of finding a better life in Britain – are sleeping rough on the streets of Calais following the demolition of the town's last remaining asylum camp, an investigation by The Independent has found.
In a two-day visit to the Pas-de-Calais region, at least 30 children between the ages of 10 and 16 were identified sleeping under canal bridges and in the forests surrounding the town. The boys are reliant on the people-traffickers who plan to stow them away on to trucks into Britain. Most of the children were sent abroad by parents who paid tens of thousands of dollars to trafficking cartels who falsely assured them that their children would be safe in Europe.
Aid agencies say the French authorities are aware of their presence but no attempt has been made to take them into care.
...France shrugged off accusations that the camp's closure would prove to be a humanitarian disaster by arguing that the Jungle had become a magnet for traffickers. But critics say the camp's closure has simply forced a vulnerable group of people back on to the streets.
...
Dan Hodges, from Refugee Action, called on the French government to help the hundreds of migrants living rough in northern France. "Whilst it was possible to sweep away the camp, it has not been possible to sweep away the problem," he said. "Rather than bringing these asylum-seekers into the French immigration system, the authorities are instead pushing people further into the arms of smugglers. It is an international disgrace that France is treating asylum-seekers, including hundreds of children, like refugees from the Dark Ages."
William Spindler, a spokesman for UNHCR – the UN refugee agency – in Paris said: "There has been a noticeable shift in police tactics over the past few weeks. The refugees are now living in even worse conditions than they were and this is very concerning, especially for the children."
read more @ independent
3. Somali extremists with Saudi-inspired Wahabi ideology making life impossible for women
The Shabaab movement in Somalia controls large parts of the south and centre of the country, and because officials in this movement embrace the Wahabi ideology they have imposed their views on Somalis by force and have issued strict decrees banning films, plays, dancing at weddings, football matches and all forms of music, even the ring tones on mobile phones.
Some days ago these extremists carried out a strange operation: they arrested a Somali woman and whipped her in public because she was wearing a bra. They announced clearly that wearing these bras was unIslamic because it is a form of fraud and deception.
We may well ask what wearing bras has to do with religion, why they would consider them to be a form of fraud and deception, and how they managed to arrest the woman wearing the bra when all Somali women go around with their bodies completely covered. Did they appoint a special female officer to inspect the breasts of women passing by in the street? One Somali woman called Halima told the Reuters news agency: "Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts... They first banned the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women's chests. They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat."
read more @ independent4. half-naked black prostitute falls (or jumps) out of window in Moscow
According to Interfax, Moscow police are investigating a battery case involving a 20-year old black prostitute who leaped out of a window of a building located in Moscow's Tekstilschiki district.
At 9:15AM on Friday, passers-by found a half-naked black girl in the yard of building 57 on Volgogradsky prospect, and called the emergency number.
“The woman suffered serious injuries including spinal compression fracture, pelvic fracture, and rib fractures. Doctors believe that some of the injuries were caused by beating, and not the fall,” a source told Interfax. The woman was sent to the city hospital #13.
The police confirmed that the apartment window the woman leaped through belongs to a co-producer of the band “Otpetye Moshenniki” (Incorrigible Swindlers) Yuriy Denisov.
“The police broke into the apartment and found the highly intoxicated owner. Denisov said that he had a party in his apartment where he got drunk and passed out. He had no recollection of what had happened. Most likely, one of the guests called the prostitute and then beat her up, which caused her leap through the window,” the source explained.
During the search of the apartment, the police found the passport of Timur Bartrutdinov, a resident of the popular TV show “Comedy Club.” The showman and other guests are wanted by the police.
The Department of Information and Public Relations of the Department of Internal Affairs confirmed that the woman fell out of the window but refused to provide further comments.
A similar case took place in Moscow at the end of June. The body of a 23-year old female citizen of Nigeria was found at building 19/2 on Tashkentskaya Street. First it was believed that the woman committed suicide leaping through a window on the 13th floor. Later it turned out that the victim was a prostitute called by three young men who were celebrating army discharge. All three men were arrested on suspicion of murder.
5. young model arrives in Moscow to have her organs sold
A man who tried to sell a young woman for her organs was arrested in the south-west part of Moscow. Temur, a 29-year old citizen of Tashkent, brought his 18-yearl old relative to Moscow with the intentions of making €50,000 from her.
The police uncovered the organ trafficker accidentally, during another investigation, Marina Molokova, head of the media department of the Moscow Ministry of Internal Affairs, told Pravda.ru.
To arrest the criminal, policemen introduced themselves as buyers interested in human organs.
At first, the seller priced the woman at €100,000, but then agreed to make a discount and sell her for half of the price. The “generous” seller offered to sell a couple more people, likely in bulk.
The policemen gave Temur some time to think and reconsider his decision to sell his relative, but he was determined to go through with the deal. The seller and the “buyers” met a few days later on Leninsky prospect in Moscow near a restaurant.
Temur brought Karina, the victim. However, instead of €50,000 he received a ward in jail and was charged with human trafficking.
Karina was shocked to learn what Temur was going to do with her. The police found out that the woman had no idea that her organs could be sold. She came to Russia to become a model, and Temur, whom she knew a little over a year, offered her his help in conquering Moscow. He even managed to earn the trust of her parents. He promised them to help their daughter and took her to Moscow.
He requested that Karina undergoes medical tests explaining that it would be helpful and will prove potential employers that she is capable of working long hours.
In reality, the criminal intended to show the results of medical tests to organ buyers as a proof of high-quality “goods.”
Prior to his meeting with the undercover “buyers,” Temur told Karina that he was taking her to meet with representatives of a modeling agency.
If Temur were to meet with real buyers, Karina would never be able to have a modeling career or see her parents again.
Karina was saved by sheer accident that helped the police to find Temur. However, not all victims of organ traffickers are that lucky.
Every year thousands of people are forced to become organ donors against their will. According to the United Nations, every year 3,500 to 7,000 (5 to 10 percent) of 68,000 kidney transplants are the results of illegal organ trafficking.
Today, the so-called “transplant tourism” is the most serious threat. Patients travel to the countries where commercial transplants are allowed and donors’ rights are not protected, and receive donor organs without red-tape and long waiting periods.
The lack of general international legislation regarding organ trafficking makes the global struggle against illegal transplants useless.
Therefore, recently, the UN and the European Council suggested the development of an international convention that would prohibit selling organs, tissue and cells throughout the world.
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