New Reports by Independent Journalist David Phinney Sheds Light on Additional Abuse

by Austin on November 14, 2006

I recently interviewed David Phinney, an independent journalist based in Washington, DC. Phinney, who has been covering the issue of human trafficking by US government contractors since 2004, has released several new stories in which he interviews American contractors who have witnessed firsthand the labor abuses occurring in Iraq.

It seems hard to believe that it has been two years since Phinney, along with Cam Simpson and T Christian Miller, began reporting on suspected cases of trafficking for labor exploitation from countries like Nepal, the Philippines and India.

The time has passed but, it seems from the contractors’ experiences, very little has changed. Phinney’s reports – in CorpWatch (here) and the Inter Press Service News Agency (here and here) – further confirm earlier reports of abuse by First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting. Multiple reports have suggested irregularities in the State Department’s awarding of the $592-million contract to First Kuwaiti. Reports also suggest that the Kuwait-based company has systematically recruited, transported and employed workers from India, Nepal and the Philippines – despite the fact that each of these countries have laws in place forbidding their citizens from working in Iraq. This illegality adds an additional layer of vulnerability for workers who fall prey to abusive labor contractors like First Kuwaiti as well as a host of middlemen.

What about the US government’s response to these allegations?
Has First Kuwaiti, or any other contractor working in Iraq (or Afghanistan), been found guilty of these human rights abuses?

In 2004 the State Dept. investigated reports by CNN) that Indian workers were being trafficked in to work on US military bases. To date, FTS has unable to find any record of the investigation, its findings, punishments to companies or services to survivors. Cam Simpson quotes the Army, which oversees one of the contracts in question, as saying human trafficking onto American bases in Iraq “are not Army issues.” Haliburton, KBR’s parent company, told Simpson that questions about the workers “should be directed to the subcontractor.”

The inaction and confusion of 2004 was followed by 2005 stories by Phinney, Simpson and Miller. Each of these revealed further details of this exploitation. The State Department again promised an investigation. Again FTS is unable to find any record of the findings. The Defense Department has launched several investigations as well; what became of them?

In what Free the Slaves hopes is a turn of events, the head of the State Department’s anti-trafficking office agreed to push for an investigation into all State Department contracts in Iraq, and including the case of workers reportedly held against their will by both First Kuwaiti and State Department officials. The Departments of State and Defense have also agreed to address the questions raised by the WarSlavery Campaign beginning in July. Read a more comprehensive update here