Indian farm workers exploited in Italy
When Balbir Singh refers to his ordeal, he uses the Italian word "macello", which roughly translates as "mess" - but it is hardly enough to convey what the migrant Indian farm worker has endured. For six years, he lived in what can only be described as slave-like conditions tending cattle in the province of Latina, a rural area south of Rome that is home to tens of thousands of Indian migrant workers like him. "I was working 12 to 13 hours a day, including Sundays, with no holidays, no rest," Singh told AFP. The farm owner paid him 100 to 150 euros (US$120 to US$175) a month, he said, which amounts to less than 50 cents an hour.
The legal minimum for farm workers is around 10 euros an hour. Singh was rescued by a police raid on Mar 17, 2017 after appealing for help via Facebook and WhatsApp to local Indian community leaders and an Italian rights activist. Officers found him living in a caravan, with no gas, hot water or electricity. and eating the leftovers that his boss either threw in the bin or gave to chickens and pigs.
Singh had to wash in the stables, with the same hosepipe he used to clean cattle, and it was made clear to him he should not complain. "When I found a lawyer ready to help me, (the owner) told me ... 'I'll kill you, I'll dig a hole, throw you in it, and fill it up' ... he had a gun, I saw it," he recalled. Singh said he was beaten up a couple of times, and had his identity papers taken away. His former employer is now on trial for labor exploitation, while Singh is living in a secret location for fear of retribution.
