Terse Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 BBC LINK The 68-year-old hired Mrs Mruke in her native Tanzania in 2006 after she was made redundant from the hospital in Dar es Salaam run by Khan and her late husband. Khan arranged a domestic service visa and promised to pay her 120,000 shillings (£21) a month into her Tanzanian bank account and £10 a month pocket money in London. Mrs Mruke, desperate to fund her daughter Zakia's college education, agreed. But when she got to London, Khan took her passport away, forced her to sleep on the kitchen floor and gave her two slices of bread a day for food. Her clothes were kept in a garden shed. Between 6am and midnight each day, Mrs Mruke was expected to be at the beck and call of Khan, who would ring a bell when she or her two grown-up, disabled children wanted something. Sometimes she would even be woken during the night to take Khan's son out for a walk. Mrs Mruke did not get a single day off in four years. Trapped in the house in Harrow, north-west London, unable to speak English and terrified by threats Khan made about her relatives in Tanzania, Mrs Mruke was cowed into submission. After a while, the pittance she was being paid dried up completely. Mind you, we shouldn't be too concerned about this - Spook assures us that the Bible approves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewhatdamaged Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Absolutely awful story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 At least the trafficer was caught and prosecuted - though £25K in compensation for something like 4 years work seems woeful - I hope some lawyer takes on a case for back pay, even at the minimum wage it should be significant. NGO's like Kalayaan are vital in cases like this - but the issue is how to get those trafficked to seek help from them. Community level information is so important telling people they are protected by minimum wage and work conditions legislation. I imagine alot of it is down to notices in newsagents, doctor's surgeries and community centres. Good work to catch it in this case - sadly I imagine there is alot more to uncover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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