Slave labour in Italy, Oman and Saudi Arabia

In Piedmont, Italy, irregular immigrants are employed in famous vineyards, where they face harassment, abuse and racism. Since April last year in the Langhe region vineyards, local authorities discovered more than 30 cases of caporalato – a form of exploitation in which intermediaries recruit migrant workers – often other immigrants – and forced to work in inhumane conditions for Italian companies. Estimates indicate that at least ⅔ of 4,000 to 5,000 people may be at risk of exploitation.

According to the Bangladesh government, almost 14,000 people died in Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2022. However, Bangladeshis are more and more willing to come there to work. Death certificates state “natural causes”, e.g. “circulatory arrest” or “breathing disorders”. According to activists, difficult working and living conditions, exploitation, stress, and heat stroke may contribute to workers’ deaths. The situation will worsen if the Arabs receive the right to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 and start building the necessary infrastructure.

The BBC’s African section investigated the smuggling of women from Malawi to Oman who were molested and used to work in slave-like conditions. It is estimated that approximately 2 million women are employed as servants in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. In a survey of 400 women in Oman conducted by the organization Do Bold, almost all of them were found to be victims of human trafficking; ⅓ of them said they had experienced sexual violence, and half reported physical violence and discrimination.