Abdulla thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
After struggling to find paintings in his home country of Bangladesh, he said a recruiter gave him the opportunity to paint at a restaurant thousands of miles away in Kuwait City for $660 a month.
There’s a problem: You’d have to pay a hefty amount, about $10,250, but you think it’s worth it. He says his mother received loans to cover costs and flew to Kuwait in January 2016. He is 21 years old.
Abdulla said he had come up with damaged promises.
I wouldn’t paint in a restaurant. Instead, he says, the company that hired him, Tamimi Global Co. , sent him to wash dishes at Camp Buehring, a U. S. military base in Kuwait. He said his salary was about $260, less than promised, and that he painted 12 hours a day without days off for nearly 3 years.
Abdulla, whose genuine call is withheld for fear of reprisals, signed a contract and surrendered his passport.
He among about 400 workers, he said, who did the same.
“What can we do?” He said: “I missed my mother. I cried every day. “
Abdulla is one of thousands of others believed to have been trafficked through personal contractors at U. S. military bases. In the U. S. , staff were paid less than promised, they were charged hiring fees that put them in debt, and they were forced to sign contracts and long jobs. hours. according to government reports. In some cases, they have even suffered physical violence.
NBC News, in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, interviewed more than 40 existing and former contractors on military bases. NBC News reviewed thousands of pages of testimony from Congress, the Department of Justice and Defense reports, documents filed through the Securities and Exchange Commission and other documents to reveal which corporations were accused of personnel trafficking or we decided to have manipulated them.
Click here to view the Washington Post article on forced hard labor at U. S. bases. U. S.
What NBC News discovered is a lack of transparency, whether it’s in what the Pentagon is willing to tell the public about allegations of abuse by taxpayer-funded employees, and in what its officials share with each other and with other agencies about corporations with problematic histories.
From fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2021, the military itself took action on 176 incidents of hard work violations through military contractors and contractors, according to State Department records reviewed for this article, and found violations involving more than 900 in fiscal year 2020 alone. according to the Department of Justice.
Although this information is meant to be public, the Pentagon will not release the names of contractors who committed violations, despite investigations, adding Freedom of Information Act requests.
Federal regulations stipulate that corporate names and data on violations must be entered into a contract database. The U. S. Government Accountability Office The U. S. Department of Health and Prevention reported last year that contract military officials do not enter data on violations into the database.
The GAO also said Army investigators and the Pentagon’s inspector general report the effects of all their own trafficking investigations and that the Pentagon does little to inform corporations that they have trafficked workers. For at least six years, military officials have reported on any company in the database.
This means that the government’s lack of transparency is both internal and external. Because defense officials don’t share traffic data with others or with other agencies, hiring officials across the government may not be aware that they are awarding new contracts to companies with previous problems. .
And those corporations continue to work. According to an NBC News analysis, at least 10 corporations that have committed well-founded trafficking crimes since 2007 have made billions in new government contracts.
“Our taxpayers’ money is potentially being used for forced hard labor and human trafficking, and this is simply unacceptable,” said Latesha Love, director of the GAO’s foreign affairs and industry team, which has continuously investigated hard labor trafficking at U. S. military bases. UU. La way [workers] are treated is akin to what some might call modern-day slavery. “
Tamimi, Abdulla’s employer, said he may simply not comment on “generalizations from former workers or ongoing procedural issues. “The company said it is “a wonderful employer who cares deeply about its people. “
Abdulla is still in Kuwait, no longer working at a base or for Tamimi.
Foreign personnel are very important to the more than 700 Army bases with U. S. service members. U. S. worldwide. They carry out responsibilities such as serving food, cleaning barracks and guarding bases. In many cases, they do not originate from the countries where the bases are located. are located. Instead, they arrive by plane from other countries with fewer job opportunities, adding Bangladesh, Nepal, India and the Philippines.
From April to June alone, U. S. Central Command has been in charge of the U. S. Central Command. The U. S. Treasury, which has troops at about a hundred bases in the Middle East, plus Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, reported that its contractors hired only about 20,300 workers, adding only about 9,000 from other countries.
Workers who aren’t from the host country or the United States are paid less, Mavens said.
Growth in the number of foreigners has intensified over the past two decades, in part because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“There was this madness and an unforeseen need for hard work, so that’s where you get this outsourcing formula that is the Wild West,” said Adam Moore, an associate professor at UCLA, who wrote an e-book about America’s reliance on foreign hard work. work for their military bases.
While the U. S. With the U. S. now having fewer combat troops in the Middle East, there are still thousands of troops and civilians deployed at bases in the region and in Africa. There are also a growing number of U. S. troops serving in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.
Tamimi, Abdulla’s employer, is a company that continues to protect paint bases across the Middle East despite violations documented in an army compliance agreement.
Since 2007, the company has won $277 million in contracts. Tamimi, in Saudi Arabia, has lately had a contract with the Department of Defense worth at least $10. 1 million for food delivery to U. S. facilities.
A former director of Tamimi pleaded guilty in U. S. federal court toHe was drafted in the U. S. in 2006 for wire fraud and money laundering and in 2009 for witnessing forgery. Tamimi paid a $13 million fine in September 2011 on civil and criminal charges of illegal bribery and gratuity.
Due to violations of the hard work law, the company signed an administrative compliance agreement in July 2017, although the military said it had a “sufficient legal basis” to ban Tamimi from long-term contracts.
LaGrace Roberts-Harvey, 59, as a civilian contractor officer for the U. S. ArmyHe was employed in Kuwait from 2015 to 2018.
One day in 2016, he visited the barracks housing Tamimi’s staff operating at Camp Buehring, a base used by U. S. troops traveling to Iraq. He said staff said they got exorbitant loans to pay for recruitment fees.
“They would be grown men crying because they had nothing to send to their families,” Roberts-Harvey added.
They complained about their schedule — 12 hours a day, seven days a week — and had their passports taken away.
He began to examine their living situations and sometimes interviewed staff.
The camp was overcrowded, he said. If Tamimi’s workers found out she was coming for an inspection, the company would hide beds on the roof to make it look like there were fewer occupants in the barracks, according to Roberts-Harvey.
“Some of them had shots where they had, like, marks of physical violence, you know, like where they were beaten,” he said. “Some other people had already had bed bugs. The shower stalls and all appliances needed cleaning. They didn’t have all the toilets and showers and everything that worked.
Roberts-Harvey lost her post after the U. S. government lost her job. UU. la accused of receiving gifts inappropriately in exchange for favors related to the contract. She denies the fees and believes he fired her in retaliation for reporting her considerations on Tamimi. A government personnel committee showed his dismissal. It’s nice to see the decision, saying he punished her for being a whistleblower.
In a letter, Tamimi denied years of traffic violations.
He declined to comment on statements made by former employees to NBC News. He called the military’s compliance agreement founded on occasions years ago and said the company “seeks to fully comply” with the military’s procurement rules.
“Tamimi Group is very proud of its 32-year partnership with the US. “The U. S. government and the U. S. government,” he said.
The company said it is proud of its paintings for the U. S. military, offering more than six hundred million foods over two decades. He said he served food to U. S. troops in the battle-torn Iraqi city of Fallujah when other contractors refused.
He attributed the wage disputes to “divergent interpretations” of Kuwait’s minimum wage regulations and said that while Tamimi in the past had passports “to keep them,” the company no longer has that policy. fees, but did not respond to questions about fees paid in the past.
The company said that in 2016 it was ordered to housing situations and that inspections in 2018 show that it complied. He said the beds Roberts-Harvey reported on the roof were placed there to use desert heat to eliminate bed bugs.
The government has faithful time and resources to combat trafficking — added two executive orders and laws and regulations — and claims to have a “zero-tolerance policy. “The military’s status quo is also investigating the allegations.
But according to a 2019 review through the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General, oversight is insufficient.
In the past five years, the Defense Department, in at least one case, referred a human trafficking case for prosecution through the Justice Department and excluded at least seven contractors or subcontractors, according to State Department reports. In cases of violations of the Hard Work Act, the remedies were administrative moves that included increased supervision.
Regarding trafficking, the GAO described a culture of confusion and apathy in the Ministry of Defense. According to the agency, some military and contract service officials even knew their day-to-day jobs in traffic prevention.
“If you’re not in favor, you’re unlikely to locate it,” Love of the GAO said.
In fact, the administrative compliance agreement between Tamimi and the military, received through the Government Oversight Project, includes a provision prohibiting the publication of surveillance reports on the company, added under the FOIA.
The Pentagon’s lack of transparency about the breaches makes things difficult for lawyers and others helping foreign personnel on military bases, especially in the Middle East, said William Gois, regional coordinator of the Asia Migrants Forum, an umbrella organization of lawyers, churches and others. assisting approximately 25,000 trafficked employees in the Middle East and Asia.
“Because of the secretive nature of so much of this,” he said, “it’s been very difficult to pin down. “
The inspector general reported on a 2019 case study of a defense contractor who provided food in Kuwait. The report cites an army memo stating that the contractor “was aware that it had imposed exorbitant hiring fees that created a state of slavery for its employees. “The army memo also said that “the housing it provided lacked access to clean water, was unsanitary, and infested with bed bugs. “However, the Inspector General’s report never names the contractor.
Commander Nicole Schwegman, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said, “The Department of Defense promotes the U. S. government’s zero-tolerance policy. The U. S. Department of Health and Human Trafficking is a U. S. Department of State. The Department continues to work diligently to combat human trafficking as it violates human rights and undermines our national security mission. “. »
In a statement, an army spokesman said: “The prevention of human trafficking is a very sensible priority for the military. We take all reports seriously and investigate one to ensure compliance with applicable laws. The spokesman said the military “cannot talk about existing laws. “complaints, ongoing investigations, or litigation,” but that beyond functionality is reviewed prior to any adjudication, and specialized education is needed to recognize hard labor trafficking for civilian employees, infantrymen, and army contractor representatives (CORs).
The spokesman said the NRC is at the contract site “to identify suspicious activity and report credible allegations for further investigation. “
The U. S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which is guilty of the Middle East and Afghanistan, “has advanced quality assurance plans to address in particular [potential hard work violations] for greater oversight,” and in Kuwait, the Army’s 408th Contract Support Brigade has appointed a specialist “for compliance with all applicable legislation on human trafficking. “
In the Middle East and Afghanistan, allegations of abuses continued even as the U. S. military’s presence changed.
This year, 22 Ugandans hired through Virginia-based security firm Triple Canopy as guards at Forward Operating Base Shorab, a U. S. base in Afghanistan, filed a federal lawsuit against the company, alleging hard labor trafficking violations.
They alleged that their passports had been illegally confiscated for months, preventing them from going out or doing other work. They said they faced Triple Canopy’s “fear, intimidation and insecurity” at work, adding threats of firing.
Among other complaints, they claimed that they were considered independent contractors, not full-time employees, despite having long hours with little free time. This difference meant they were ineligible for medical care despite facing repeated attacks through Taliban fighters that wounded several guards.
One manager told staff they “feel lucky” to have worked for Triple Canopy, they said.
The 22 staff members say they were unfairly fired in December 2020 after raising questions about cash they say they inappropriately withheld from their $500 monthly salary.
Triple Canopy downplayed the claims filed in court and argued that the workers, because they are in Uganda, have status to file a federal lawsuit. The trial is ongoing. Triple Canopy responded to a request for comment.
It’s rarely the first time Triple Canopy has come under scrutiny. The bipartisan congressional committee on war contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan found more than a decade ago that Triple Canopy did not offer adequate warm clothing for Ugandan guards at a forward base in Iraq.
Uthuman Kimuli, a Ugandan who is not a party to the litigation, was hired through Triple Canopy at Jalalabad airfield in Afghanistan in 2019 and 2020, and told NBC News that he worked 12 hours a day, but was only paid 8 hours for nearly two hours. months. . The 35-year-old said staff have only been given one set of gloves and one mask per day during the coronavirus pandemic, though as security guards inspect visitors to the complex.
“We were running in fear,” he said.
Triple Canopy has won more than 350 federal government contracts since 2007, more than $4 billion, and lately has contracts with the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.
Sam McCahon, a former Army procurement fraud adviser and later an attorney for military contractors, now works as a lawyer representing alleged trafficking victims, adding Ugandan staff to the Triple Canopy trial.
He said the military does very little to prevent traffic and relies heavily on underpaid personnel to keep its bases running.
“You can’t reconcile this economic style with the government’s zero-tolerance policy,” he said. “It’s institutionalized. “
Vectrus Systems Corp. , a Colorado Springs-based logistics contractor, has won more than 800 contracts worth more than $17 billion since 2007. The company has, among other contracts, an agreement worth up to $37. 8 million to supply domestic tasks to the U. S. military. UU. in Saudi Arabia.
Vectrus sued in 2015 through several former workers who said they suffered retaliation and were wrongfully fired, among other things, for reporting hard labor trafficking at Shank forward operations base in Afghanistan.
A federal jury awarded the plaintiffs more than $1. 5 million and a federal judgment rejected Vetrus’ offer for a new trial. After appeals were filed, the case was settled for an undisclosed amount. The company has not declared any crime.
It’s not the first time Vectrus has faced such accusations. About six years ago, an anonymous whistleblower called a hotline at the Inspector General’s office.
The appellant alleged that a subcontractor of Vectrus hired under false pretenses and withheld their wages, according to a Justice Department report.
The case was referred to the Criminal Investigation Service of the Defense, it is unclear how the case was resolved.
In a statement, Vectrus said: “We appreciate all other people and treat them with dignity and respect. “The company said it respects hard work legislation and asks its subcontractors to comply with them as well.
Another major personal security firm with contracts with the Pentagon is Aegis, which has won more than 95 contracts since 2011 worth more than $830 million, many of them to supply security guards.
Lusambu Karim, a 50-year-old Ugandan, told NBC News about traffic violations he allegedly encountered while running for Aegis in Afghanistan from 2018 to 2020.
He said he paid hiring fees, slept in a dilapidated building without air conditioning despite excessive heat and was forced to work without a contract, compromising his ability to receive medical care in a war zone.
“It’s very horrible,” he said. Working in Afghanistan is a very, very, very bad situation. “
GardaWorld, owner of Aegis, said Karim misunderstood his contract and then quit his job on his shift.
The Pentagon is his case.
Karim appeared this summer in a video posted on a Defense Ministry website. It’s part of a series called “Voices of Human Trafficking Survivors,” compiled through the Office of Human Trafficking Program Management, one of the military’s leading agencies seeking to decrease abuse.
“We are grateful to the survivors,” the Pentagon firm wrote in the introduction, “who took the time to share their stories. “
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.