A remaining group of 22 migrant workers abandoned and left in dire
straits by their employer in Iraq have been helped to return home
following an intervention by IOM.

The 15 Ukrainians and 7 Bulgarians were part of an original
group of 217 migrant workers recruited to work on a construction
project inside the international zone in Baghdad in December, 2010.
They were abandoned by their employer who disappeared after the
work on the project stopped in mid-April this year.

Promised a 2,500 USD month salary when they were hired, the
workers had only received a few hundred dollars in wages when their
employer absconded, leaving them with no means to live on.

After months of unsuccessful negotiations with the contractor to
pay them their overdue salaries, the workers appealed for help from
the international community.

IOM has been helping them since then by providing food and
humanitarian assistance and by advocating for their situation to be
resolved with the Iraqi authorities.

This has now led to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs
providing each of the 22 migrants USD 2,000 in compensation and
arranging their exit documentation.

However, USD 1,000 was deducted from each of the Bulgarian
workers to pay for their plane tickets home as these were not
covered by the Bulgarian government. The Ukrainian government paid
for their workers to return home.

"The departure of the workers comes at a critical point. They
are emotionally and physically exhausted. They had to contend with
mosquitoes and deteriorating living conditions especially when the
sewage burst at the place they were staying. They simply could not
continue to stay here,'' said IOM Iraq's Livia Styp-Rekowska.

The workers had been living on a building site in crowded, dark,
dirty and unventilated conditions, without electricity or clean
water. Many of them had suffered health problems as a result and
were often subjected to threats of eviction.

Although the return home has ended a lengthy physical ordeal for
the 22 migrants, they are still owed USD 300,000 in unpaid wages
and are unable to pay off loans and mortgages back home. An Iraqi
lawyer is now taking up their case in order to recover their unpaid
salaries.

The other 195 migrants who made up the original group were
either moved to work on another construction site or, under
pressure from their employer, agreed to leave the country for a
one-time payment of USD 1,000. However, after being forced to pay
their transport home and charges for overstaying a 10-day visa, the
migrants were left with little to no money.

IOM missions in Iraq, Bulgaria and Ukraine will follow the case
by ensuring the coordination and delivery of reintegration services
for the 22 migrants where possible.

"This outcome, even if not perfect, has been achieved through
the cooperation between various actors, including the government
and the international community. It is one of the few labour
exploitation cases to have been investigated in this way," adds
Styp-Rekowska. "It has not only highlighted the need for a more
long-term response to foreign labour exploitation in Iraq but has
hopefully raised greater awareness of human trafficking among both
the government and the public alike."

Broadcasters, please note there is some
b-roll available of the migrants in Baghdad prior to their
departure at the following link:

"http://www.quicklink.tv/IOM/download.asp?Clip_ID=1252" target=
"_blank" title=
"">http://www.quicklink.tv/IOM/download.asp?Clip_ID=1252

For further information, please contact:

Livia Styp-Rekowska

IOM Iraq

Tel: + 962 79 711 0261

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