ShareIn the years before and immediately after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it was common to read stories about Asian livestock workers, shepherds and farms laborers who lived and worked in desert camps or farms being injured when stumbling upon leftover landmines or occasionally being robbed by marauders.
Now, however, death and attacks on farm workers comes more and more often from their employers or fellow farmhands. Reports surfaced recently about a livestock worker in Kabd who was allegedly beaten to death by his employer. The sponsor called police and alleged that the Bangladeshi worker had fallen from a roof and injured himself but after a post-mortem, it was clear that the man had suffered torture and multiple injuries. The sponsor then confessed to beating the worker, arguing that he was negligent in his duties.
Whatever the excuse, there is no justification for physical violence. No one has the right to physically abuse another. That is a crime and must be punished. We are a law-abiding nation. We must punish all those who break the laws, especially when it comes to the abuse and ill treatment of the weakest members of our society.
I sincerely hope this man will get his due punishment according to the law and he should be an example for all sponsors who treat their workers as slaves. Slavery is over and no sponsor or boss should be allowed to abuse his workers for any reason no matter what the worker's mistake or crime.
I do recall a couple of years ago when I was invited to a friend's farm in the desert. He had several workers tending livestock and all the time, I kept thinking how hard and difficult their lives in the desert must be.
Kuwait's weather is hard enough and the fact that those workers are living in the middle of nowhere, with no transportation or access to basic facilities is horrible. I think that every human needs communication with his kin at least once a week. But these farm workers may go months or even years without leaving the farm or having contact with anyone outside a few workmates and their employers.
I believe the status of farm workers must be seriously considered, whether Asian or Arab. In 2016 a forgery crime occurred in Kuwait when a non-Kuwaiti person transferred 12 Egyptian farm workers from their sponsor, to a car rental company without legal transfer of work permits.
The General Directorate of Residence Investigations conducted an investigation into these workers and the non-Kuwaiti man who ran one of these farms, and uncovered acts of bribery involving the staff of a ministry. Investigations revealed that the transfer of the work permits was illegal and all parties were arrested. The workers had paid KD 700 to the man in exchange for the transfer of their residency.
The fact is that these men were also victims. They lost their jobs and money too. So why did they choose to risk it?
Because the truth is that livestock and farm workers are among the lowliest in Kuwait. They are paid poorly, harshly treated, given few incentives and oftentimes abused.
I think the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor - along with representatives from human rights organizations and NGOs - should regularly conduct surprise inspections tours of local farms and livestock holdings to check on the working and living conditions of the laborers.
These workers have the right to a weekly day off, reasonable food and housing, reasonable working hours and salaries paid on time as well as decent, humane treatment. They are not slaves and its time our society stood up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
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