budanski
05-04-2004, 01:11 AM
Indians abused at US military camp in Iraq
HindustanTimes (http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_730198,000900020003.htm)
Ramesh Babu
Kollam,*May 4
• “We were slaves in American kitchens. We barely got two hours of sleep. Any slip-ups and we were tortured for days," says Hameed.
•*“Once I told the kitchen in-charge that as I was a devout Muslim I could not cook pork. I was beaten up with rifle butts,” says Hameed’s brother Shahjahan.
• “Iraqi militia attacked our camps several times. At times, officers used us as shields,” adds Hameed.
You’ve read the stories and seen pictures of the brutal treatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of Western soldiers. This is the account of Indians with visas for Kuwait ending up as slaves in US military camps in Battlefield Iraq.
In August 2003, 25 such workers** — of whom Hameed, Shajahan and two others were from Kerala —*paid Rs 75,000 each to obtain Kuwaiti work visas. In Kuwait, they were told they were to travel for two days to reach the work site. “When the journey ended we realised we were in Baghdad. We were handed over to another agent who took us to a military camp in Mosul,” says Hameed.
The Americans in the camp told the Indians that they had purchased them for a hefty amount, and that they were to work in the kitchen and do other odd jobs.
“We were deceived as it was difficult to get workers for mundane chores in Iraq,” says Hameed, who like his brother, is a butcher.
Once they realised they had been duped and sold to the US military, they waited for a chance to escape.
They got their chance one day when their camp came under heavy shelling. An Iraqi truck driver took them to Baghdad. From there they travelled to Fallujah and then to Jordan and Doha.
Their ordeal ended on April 28 when they arrived in Mumbai. But it continues for many more Indians in Iraq. Shajahan claims that he met least 70 Indians in American camps in Iraq.
The four that got away had been promised a salary of Rs 40,000 a month. All they’ve come back with is a recurring nightmare.
They're all coming out of the woodwork I suppose.
HindustanTimes (http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_730198,000900020003.htm)
Ramesh Babu
Kollam,*May 4
• “We were slaves in American kitchens. We barely got two hours of sleep. Any slip-ups and we were tortured for days," says Hameed.
•*“Once I told the kitchen in-charge that as I was a devout Muslim I could not cook pork. I was beaten up with rifle butts,” says Hameed’s brother Shahjahan.
• “Iraqi militia attacked our camps several times. At times, officers used us as shields,” adds Hameed.
You’ve read the stories and seen pictures of the brutal treatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of Western soldiers. This is the account of Indians with visas for Kuwait ending up as slaves in US military camps in Battlefield Iraq.
In August 2003, 25 such workers** — of whom Hameed, Shajahan and two others were from Kerala —*paid Rs 75,000 each to obtain Kuwaiti work visas. In Kuwait, they were told they were to travel for two days to reach the work site. “When the journey ended we realised we were in Baghdad. We were handed over to another agent who took us to a military camp in Mosul,” says Hameed.
The Americans in the camp told the Indians that they had purchased them for a hefty amount, and that they were to work in the kitchen and do other odd jobs.
“We were deceived as it was difficult to get workers for mundane chores in Iraq,” says Hameed, who like his brother, is a butcher.
Once they realised they had been duped and sold to the US military, they waited for a chance to escape.
They got their chance one day when their camp came under heavy shelling. An Iraqi truck driver took them to Baghdad. From there they travelled to Fallujah and then to Jordan and Doha.
Their ordeal ended on April 28 when they arrived in Mumbai. But it continues for many more Indians in Iraq. Shajahan claims that he met least 70 Indians in American camps in Iraq.
The four that got away had been promised a salary of Rs 40,000 a month. All they’ve come back with is a recurring nightmare.
They're all coming out of the woodwork I suppose.