Latest news with #migrants
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
‘We were treated like animals': Champagne workers reveal inhumane conditions
France's Champagne region conjures up visions of picturesque vineyards, rolling hills and church steeples, as well as grapes lovingly hand-picked by 120,000 seasonal workers. Yet the idyllic image has taken a huge knock due to a court case brought by a group of 57 grape pickers – most of whom are African and without papers. At a trial last week, they recounted the 'hellish' conditions endured at the hands of allegedly unscrupulous middlemen and a winemaker accused of turning a blind eye to 'modern slavery'. ' We were treated like animals in those vineyards. I'm still traumatised,' Kanouté Djakariayou, a 44-year-old migrant from Mali, told The Telegraph. 'It was inhuman, I'm still trying to forget,' added Diabira Bouhou, also from Mali. They and their fellow complainants – from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal – were all bussed from Paris to the criminal court of Châlons-en-Champagne for the six-hour hearing, taking a similar route that brought them to the region in 2023, for what they were promised would be a well-paid job in decent conditions. 'We responded to offers on WhatsApp and TikTok to work in the vineyards for €80 per day, with the bus leaving from Porte de la Chapelle (northeastern Paris),' recalled Mr Djakariayou. 'They said we would be in comfortable housing, three or four to a room.' They were told they would receive a bonus depending on the harvest, however the court heard they were never paid. Due to the level of their alleged mistreatment, prosecutors requested two years behind bars for subcontractor Svetlana Yourevna Goumina, a Kyrgyz woman in her forties, on charges of human trafficking, exploiting seasonal workers, and housing them in appalling conditions. 'No food, no water, nothing' Two defendants, Abdoulaye Camara and Témuri Muradian, who helped recruit the workers with false promises, face three-year prison terms, two suspended. A fourth, Olivier Orban, head of a wine cooperative, faces a €200,000 fine for turning a blind eye to black market labour that helped him sell his harvest 20 per cent cheaper per kilo than normal. 'The victims…were promised a hotel, with six toilets for almost 60 people,' said the presiding judge. But worker Modibo Sidibe said: 'They put us in an abandoned building with no food, no water, nothing. And then they took us to harvest the grapes from 5am to 6pm.' The accommodation, a warehouse and a house under construction in the village of Nesle-le-Repons, contained ' worn and dirty sanitation facilities ', an outdoor kitchen, and living areas that were unprotected from the weather. The dangerous state of the showers, with bare electrical cables sticking out, forced pickers who returned exhausted after backbreaking harvesting in scorching temperatures to use a bucket of water to wash off the grime. 'There were blown-up mattresses covered in dust strewn on the floor. The toilet was soon blocked and s--- poured out into the sleeping area. It was unbearable. There was no electricity, not even to charge our mobile phones,' said Mr Djakariayou. Grape pickers said they had to make do with 'drinking water from the pipes', which made them ill, as did the defrosted sandwiches they were handed for lunch. They were crammed into vans with no windows and taken to the vineyards. 'From the initial 80, around 30 threw in the towel and demanded to leave. But the rest of us stayed because they refused to pay us if we left, and I have debts and rent to pay,' Mr Djakariayou, who said he was granted a temporary work permit after his ordeal. Lawyers have asked for €5,000 in damages per worker. After a neighbour alerted the French police, investigators in September 2023 inspected the living conditions of the harvesters, according to prosecutor Annick Browne. Following the inspection, regional authorities ordered the closure of the accommodation, citing 'unsanitary' and 'undignified' living conditions. Disrespect for 'human dignity' As well as human trafficking, Ms Goumina, manager of the subcontractor Anavim, was also accused of concealed labour, submitting vulnerable or dependent persons to undignified housing conditions, and employing foreign nationals without authorisation. Maxime Cessieux, the lawyer of the victims, said before the trial that the defendants had shown 'total contempt' and disrespect for 'human dignity'. 'We cannot accept any champagne bottle concealing unregulated subcontracting and blatant mistreatment,' the prosecutor told the court. Jose Blanco, general secretary of the CGT-Champagne trade union, which has been instrumental in bringing the case to court, said he hoped the July 21 verdict would result in tough sentences to set a precedent. He pointed to another upcoming trial in November regarding the alleged mistreatment of 100 Ukrainian grape pickers crammed into an unsanitary building during the 2023 harvest. In a historic first, the Champagne board, CIVC, filed as a civil plaintiff in this month's trial 'to express its firm opposition (...) and to have the serious damage to the image of the appellation recognised'. Union demands worker protections But Mr Blanco said his union wants it to go further. It is calling for proper pay and housing for grape pickers to be added to the Champagne appellation's specifications, which grants assurance about how and where the drink was produced. 'Any producer who fails to do so will not be able to sell his grapes,' he said. 'That would create a huge financial disincentive.' Clients – large Champagne houses, wine cooperatives or independent winegrowers – who use service providers for 'turnkey harvests' would then be considered 'jointly liable before the law'. But CIVC has refused to go this far, saying it has already put in place extra checks and procedures to verify subcontractors. As a result, Mr Blanco said, the wine producer in the dock was able to sell his grapes to the big champagne houses – he mentioned two in court, Montsard-Baillet and Moët-Chandon. 'They weren't on trial, but I think that the justice system could have looked into their role more deeply,' he said. 'Champagne must have impeccable ethics. But the first bottles made from those grapes of human misery will be on sale this year.'
The Sun
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
How Greek island Lesbos stopped migrant invasion using controversial yet effective ‘pushback' deterrent hailed by locals
AS the influx of illegal migrants to Britain's shores shows no sign of abating, something very different is happening 2,000 miles away on the Greek island of Lesbos. Here, just seven miles across the Mytilini Strait from Turkey, the number of crossings has shrunk, thanks to a controversial but extremely effective deterrent. 7 7 7 At its peak ten years ago, up to 3,500 migrants a day landed on Lesbos, having made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea in makeshift boats and cheap dinghies. But now, thanks to Greece's robust policy of 'pushbacks' — intercepting the boats and returning them to Turkish waters — that number has plummeted to just 1,700 so far this year. Aegean Boat Report, a Norwegian non-governmental organisation that monitors migrant flows in the area, says Turkey also regularly intercepts boats before they reach the Greek Islands and returns them to the mainland. Campaigners have slammed the practice, claiming it is illegal, but locals say the crackdown has saved the scenic holiday retreat from economic disaster — and most importantly, it has saved lives. Fisherman Thanassis Marmarinos recalls the horror of seeing the bodies of migrants in the sea before Greece's hardline anti- immigration government was elected in 2019. Floating corpses He said: 'It was extremely bad before, I can't imagine it being any worse. 'Every day there were thousands of migrants crossing. 'For five months I couldn't make any money because I would spend all my time trying to stop them drowning. 'People were asking for help and they were dying in the water, so I had no other option. 'I saw the corpses floating in the sea with my own eyes. 'In 2015 there was only one coastguard ship and they were overwhelmed, so I and four other fishermen did what we could to help save lives. 'The smugglers were charging about 2,000 euros per person for the 90-minute sailing to Lesbos. 'But to save money they were giving the migrants cheap, Chinese-made boats that had two sections to their engines — one full of fuel, the other full of water, so they would stop working halfway.' In 2015, triggered by war and political unrest in the Middle East and Africa, the refugee crisis had one of its deadliest years for small-boat crossings. A total of 805 people drowned as they tried to cross what is dubbed the Eastern Mediterranean corridor by Frontex, the European Union's border and coastguard agency. An incredible 800,000 landed in Greece the same year, 60 per cent of them reaching Lesbos, according to the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency. Since then, Frontex has expanded hugely, from a small administrative office in Warsaw to the EU's biggest agency, with 10,000 armed guards backed by helicopters, drones and ships and with an annual budget of more than a billion euros. Another six billion euros has been paid to Turkey to boost border security, and unlike Britain's £500million three-year deal with France, it has led to a sharp fall in people-smuggling. 7 7 Last year 54,000 small-boat migrants reached the Greek Islands from Turkey, and as we reported last week, Frontex has recorded a further 29 per cent fall in irregular migration through its Eastern Mediterranean border in the first quarter of this year. Fewer crossings have led to a fall in fatalities of more than 75 per cent since 2015, with 191 asylum seekers reported missing or dead in the same area last year. This is despite the Greek government banning charities and individuals from helping small-boat migrants while they are at sea — another key difference from the UK, where 1,371 people crossing the Channel were rescued by the RNLI last year. On Lesbos, new arrivals are not given a hotel room, and currently around 1,100 people are being housed in containers at the Closed Control Access Centre on the north east coast, where the provisions are basic. Sometimes when refugees reach here, they catch them, put them on a boat and drop them in the middle of the ocean on a life raft. Joaquin O'Ryan This is in contrast to two years ago, when up to 5,000 people had their claims processed there, while 20,000 were held in the island's old Moria 'camp of shame' before it was destroyed by fire in 2020. Fisherman Thanassis, 72, is one of the many islanders who believe that the election of the hardline New Democracy party in 2019, when Kyriakos Mitsotakis became Greece 's Prime Minister, was a turning point. He said: 'Everything changed when New Democracy was elected and they started sending the migrants back to Turkey. 'After that it became a bad deal to pay to cross to Greece, because you would end up back where you started.' When The Sun visited this week, there was not a single sea arrival on Lesbos, despite the Aegean being perfectly calm. Key to the change has been the decision to redesignate Turkey as a 'safe third country' for asylum-seekers. But charities insist the pushbacks are illegal, and Frontex is currently investigating alleged human rights violations by the Greek coastguard. 7 7 A statement by Aegean Boat Report said: 'Systematic human rights violations at the Greek sea border have been ongoing for over five years. 'Almost 100,000 people have been illegally and violently removed from Greek territory and pushed back towards Turkey, over 1,000 people have been killed in these illegal operations.' Joaquin O'Ryan, of humanitarian group Europe Cares, which provides meals and activities for people living in the CCAC camp, said: 'These pushbacks are illegal but it's a systemic process — they are not being carried out by just one person — so they can do whatever they want, basically. 'Sometimes when refugees reach here [Lesbos], they catch them, put them on a boat and drop them in the middle of the ocean on a life raft.' The Lesbos coastguard now has around half a dozen frigates, some supplied by Frontex, and most of the islanders we spoke to support the tough action being taken by the authorities. Waiter Kristos Condeli, 60, said: 'Tourism was completely destroyed for a few years after 2015. 'The cruise ships stopped coming here because they didn't want passengers to see corpses floating in the sea. 'There were thousands of migrants coming here and some of them resorted to stealing to survive. 'It got to the point that it was no longer safe to leave your bag in your car as someone would smash the window and steal it. 'UK could learn a lot' 'With no tourists, there was very little work for waiters. 'I had to relocate to Corfu to make a living and I've only recently been able to move back. 'The number of migrants crossing is down significantly in recent years and it's all thanks to the coastguard and Frontex, who are doing a fantastic job. 'The UK could learn a lot from the things done here.' Receptionist Maria Dimitriou works at the island's Molyvos Hotel. She fears the migrant problem has been pushed further south to Crete, where 6,500 migrants from Libya in North Africa have landed in the last six months. She said: 'Before the crisis started, we had one of our best years for tourism. 'The hotels were full of visitors from Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and the UK. 'When the migrants first started coming, the tourists said they wanted to help them. 'But the next year no one came back. 'I can only guess that they were put off by all the TV reports and they didn't want to risk seeing a dead body when they were on holiday. 'The drop in numbers almost destroyed the tourism industry in Lesbos. 'If it wasn't for weekend visitors from Turkey, this island would already be dead. 'In 2015 the refugees were everywhere. 'We felt sorry for the people from Syria, who were escaping a genuine war zone. 'After that, they were from everywhere and tell me, how can you be called a refugee when you are from Pakistan? 'The tourism industry is getting back to normal now and this hotel is close to full capacity for the next few months. 'But everyone is worried that, given what is happening in Iran and Palestine, the situation might get worse again.'
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
US signs agreements with Guatemala and Honduras to take asylum seekers
GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala and Honduras have signed agreements with the United States to potentially offer refuge to people from other countries who otherwise would seek asylum in the United States, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday at the conclusion of her Central America trip . The agreements expand the Trump administration's efforts to provide the U.S. government flexibility in returning migrants not only to their own countries, but also to third countries as it attempts to ramp up deportations.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour poised to announce 'one in, one out' migrant exchange deal with France - but Tories dub it 'pathetic'
The Conservatives have blasted a 'pathetic' plan being drawn up by Labour to send small boat migrants back to France in exchange for other types of asylum seekers. Ministers are reported to be on the cusp of announcing a deal with president Emmanuel Macron 's government which would see France accept returns of Channel migrants for the first time. But for each migrant returned back across the Channel the UK would accept another asylum seeker in a 'one in, one out' exchange, it is understood. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded it 'pathetic' and said Labour should never have scrapped the previous government's Rwanda asylum scheme, which was designed to deter Channel crossings. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce the new agreement within days, in the run-up to the first anniversary of Labour's return to power, which falls a week tomorrow. Amid an intensifying Channel crisis, the Government will hope the deal will reduce the number of migrants crossing illegally by dinghy – who may be deterred because they could be sent back almost immediately. However, how the scheme will work – and its full impact – remains unknown at this stage. Britain will reportedly accept asylum seekers from France on a 'one for one' basis. They are likely to be those who already have relatives living in this country. Mr Philp said: 'We pay the French half a billion pounds to wave the boats off from Calais, and in return we get a migrant merry-go-round where the same number still come here. 'The French are failing to stop the boats at sea, failing to return them like the Belgians do, and now instead of demanding real enforcement, Labour are trying a 'one in, one out' gimmick. 'If Labour were serious, they would not have scrapped the returns deterrent the National Crime Agency said we needed - instead, they've surrendered our immigration system. Pathetic.' It comes after 118 migrants reached Britain on Wednesday, bringing the total since Labour came to power to 41,760, up 34 per cent on the same period in 2023-24. Earlier this week it emerged that migrants living in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels are securing work as fast food delivery riders within hours of entering Britain. Mr Philp said he had found evidence of asylum seekers breaking rules which bar them from working while their claim is processed by the Home Office. The Tory frontbencher visited an asylum hotel in central London and posted a video showing bicycles fitted with delivery boxes for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats parked outside. Latest Home Office figures show there are about 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels in the UK. Sir Keir scrapped the Rwanda scheme as one of his first acts in office. The deal would have seen small boat migrants handed a one-way ticket to the east African nation to claim asylum there rather than in the UK. Labour replaced the scheme with measures to boost law enforcement, in a bid to 'smash the gangs' behind the deadly Channel crossings aboard overloaded, sub-standard dinghies. On Tuesday the borders watchdog said he was 'not convinced' Labour's plan will end the Channel crisis, and predicted ministers will fail to meet their target to end use of asylum hotels by end of this Parliament. Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Bolt said he had written to ministers to express his doubts about the plan. It was first reported in April that Britain and France were in talks about a migrant returns deal. At that stage it was mooted to be a pilot scheme.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Germany scraps funding for sea rescues of migrants
'I don't think it's the foreign office's job to finance this kind of sea rescue,' Wadephul said'We need to be active where the need is greatest'BERLIN: Germany is cutting financial support for charities that rescue migrants at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean, saying it will redirect resources to addressing conditions in source countries that spur people to decades, migrants driven by war and poverty have made perilous crossings to reach Europe's southern borders, with thousands estimated to die every year in their bid to reach a continent grown increasingly hostile to migration.'Germany is committed to being humane and will help where people suffer but I don't think it's the foreign office's job to finance this kind of sea rescue,' Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told a news conference.'We need to be active where the need is greatest,' he added, mentioning the humanitarian emergency in war-shattered the previous left-leaning government, Germany began paying around 2 million euros ($2.34 million) annually to non-governmental organizations carrying out rescues of migrant-laden boats in trouble at them, it has been a key source of funds: Germany's Sea-Eye, which said rescue charities have saved 175,000 lives since 2015, received around 10 percent of its total income of around 3.2 million euros from the German Friedrich Merz's conservatives won February's national election after a campaign promising to curb irregular migration, which some voters in Europe's largest economy see as being out of though the overall numbers have been falling for several years, many Germans blame migration-related fears for the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the second largest party in experts say that migration levels are mainly driven by economic and humanitarian emergencies in the source countries, with the official cold shoulder in destination countries having had little impact in deterring this, German officials suggest that sea rescues only incentivise people to risk the sometimes deadly crossings.'The (government) support made possible extra missions and very concretely saved lives,' said Gorden Isler, Sea-Eye's chairperson. 'We might now have to stay in harbor despite emergencies.'The opposition Greens, who controlled the foreign office when the subsidies were introduced, criticized the move.'This will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and deepen human suffering,' said joint floor leader Britta Hasselmann.
