Kidnapped' Filipinos build US embassy

Kidnapped' Filipinos build US embassy

www.timesonline.co.uk

An American civilian contractor has described scenes of panic and hysteria last year as Filipino construction workers were told that they were on a plane bound for Baghdad rather than Dubai.

Passengers jumped out of their seats screaming in protest until a gun-toting air steward ordered them to sit down, claimed Rory Mayberry, an emergency medical technician travelling on the same flight.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Just like the old days. Shanghai who you need whenever you need them and 'devil take the hindmost.

I find this criminal and disturbing... how about you?

Owens testified that conditions in the camp were “deplorable, beyond what any man should tolerate”. Workers from Asia and west Africa were paid between £120-£150 a month for working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, he claimed.

www.timesonline.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Not an unusual story, all of the Gulf Oil States treat thier imported labor poorly. The only reason this is newsworthy is because now the labor is contracted to the US Embassy. The US needs to cut the Kuwaiti Contractor out and pay these workers a fair wage or send the Philippinos home as soon as possible if that is what they prefer.

Agreed on the poor treatment. More like ghastly.

The company mentioned in the story is FirstKuwaiti who have a stellar group among their list of clients...

-US Army Corps of Engineers, (USACE)
-Halliburton, Kellog Brown & Roots (KBR)
-US Government, Army
-US Government, Marine
-US Government, Air Force for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE), subcontract through ECCI

www.firstkuwaiti.com...

[edit on 5/8/07 by masqua]

This is one of the major problems here in the Philippines..

One sniff of the word America and everyone thinks they're gonna get a good deal.

I walk around and i get called Joe (as in G.I. Joe, a slang name left over from WW2) but some don't understand or believe it when I tell them I'm English, not American.

Most westerners are generally believed to come from America, it's like Europe does not exist.

They take one look at you and immediately think dollars.

There are call centres here that will only employ someone who has a good command of English, but with a strong American accent. And these call centre companies are already abusing the staff in various ways, some just dont pay you. You walk away from the job and they just hire someone else.

There are so many people from the Philippines who go to the USA and UK, mostly as nurses, thinking they'll be earning loads of money.

What most fail to realise is the cost of living here is the same as the cost of living there.

The only time you really benefit is if you bring the money direct from USA/UK to the Philippines.

There are families here who have not seen family members for years due to them working abroad. It takes a long time to save for a flight and to send what cash you can back to your family, and you still have to pay rent and food.

The streets are not paved with gold, heck , the dollar isn't even backed by gold...