Nine African migrants who benefited from IOM's legal counselling
following a recent spate of anti-foreigner violence in the
Calabrian town of Rosarno have been issued with temporary residence
permits for reasons of social protection under Article 18 of the
Italian Immigration Act.

The migrants were part of a group of several hundred mostly
sub-Saharan farm workers who were exploited by corrupt employers in
citrus farms, working up to 12 hours a day with little or no pay
and who were forced to live in inhumane conditions in makeshift
huts and abandoned factories.  

"An IOM team met the undocumented migrants in an Expulsion and
Identification Centre of the southern town of Bari, where many had
been transferred right after the January riots. We listened to
their testimonies and they provided us with key information on how
they were exploited in Calabria," says Simona Moscarelli, IOM's
legal expert in Rome.

Working with a network of Italian counter-trafficking NGOs, IOM
then organized the transfer of the migrants to shelters in various
parts of the country.  

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alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://www.italy.iom.int/images/pdf/OIM_Rapporto_Castelvolturno.pdf"
target="_blank" title="">Rapporto sulla situazione dei migranti
presenti nella provincial di Caserta e nell' area di
Castelvolturno

Earlier this week, 31 people were arrested by the Italian police
on charges of organized crime and labour violation laws in
connection with the migrants' exploitation. Farms and other
property were also seized for a value of 10 million
euros. 

An IOM report released on Tuesday highlights the plight and poor
living conditions of hundreds of migrant workers currently
exploited in the city of Castel Volturno, some 35 kilometres
northwest of Naples.

The report, prepared as part of the PRAESIDIUM project funded by
the Italian Ministry of Interior, explains how the exploitation of
both irregular and regular migrants is organized in the area.

Migrants from Sub-Sahara are usually employed in the
agricultural and in the construction sector, whilst North Africans
are often employed to pick strawberries. Migrants from India and
Pakistan tend to work in the production of mozzarella cheese.

"All migrants in the Castel Volturno tend to work 12 hours per
day for 20 to 25 euros and are housed in unhealthy slums," says
Carmela Godeau, Deputy Director of IOM's Regional Office for the
Mediterranean. "The report finds that up to 500 Nigerian women in
the area are likely victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation,
with many held in debt bondage."

The report recommends that the relevant authorities investigate
the working conditions of migrants in the Castel Volturno area in
view of providing a residence permit for social protection to the
most vulnerable and to those who testify against unscrupulous
employers.

The "Rapporto sulla situazione dei migranti presenti nella
provincial di Caserta e nell' area di Castelvolturno" is available
online at:

"http://www.italy.iom.int/images/pdf/OIM_Rapporto_Castelvolturno.pdf">http://www.italy.iom.int/images/pdf/OIM_Rapporto_Castelvolturno.pdf

For further information, please contact:

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Rome

Tel: + 39 06 44 186 207

E-mail: "mailto:fdigiacomo@iom.int">fdigiacomo@iom.int