Almost 100 Indian guest workers at a Mississippi shipyard stormed off from their jobs one day earlier this month, claiming their employer had treated them like slaves.
Now the group is suing the company and marching from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., in a nonviolent "satyagraha," to demand a meeting with the Indian ambassador.
The men were part of a group of 500 Indians who were brought into the United States after Hurricane Katrina to work as welders and pipe fitters for Signal International, a company that makes marine oil platforms and other equipment in Mississippi and Texas.
The company housed them in trailers where 24 men shared a room, paying $1,050 in rent, India-West reported.
According to the Web site of the AFL-CIO, the workers say they were also pressured into paying other fees by Signal and forced to live like "pigs in a cage."
The workers also accused Signal of "human trafficking," according to the AFL-CIO.
Signal has refuted the charges, saying the ...
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Witch Hunting in the 21st CenturyFrom: newsdesk.org
Post Date: 2008-03-27 00:27:35
"Do We Need to Uproot Witchcraft in Africa?" demands a headline in Rwanda’s New Times newspaper.
The answer, according to the article, is no -- but that opinion is not necessarily shared around the continent.
Indeed, witchcraft -- or at least the accusation of it -- is a serious matter in much of Africa and the African diaspora.
In Ghana, belief in witchcraft is widespread, Africa News reports, and in rural areas a witchcraft accusation lead to exile.
Banished by their familie...
more Debt Waived for India FarmersFrom: newsdesk.org
Post Date: 2008-03-27 00:27:30
Small and marginal farmers in India will get almost $15 billion in debt relief, thanks to legislation orchestrated by the populist son of the Nehru-Gandhi political family.
Rahul Gandhi, whose family includes several former prime ministers and a turbulent history of assassination, said the farmers deserved the same treatment as "industrialists" who default on billions of rupees borrowed from banks, and then have their obligations waived.
While some farmers complained that they were exclud...
more Cancer in the Air, and in Your HairFrom: newsdesk.org
Post Date: 2008-03-27 00:27:28
Two new reports identify byproducts of everyday life as culprits behind an increase in avoidable cancers and other health issues.
Diesel emissions from the Port of Oakland and the freeway system around West Oakland puts millions of people at risk of cancer, asthma and other diseases, according to a new report from the California Air Resources Board.
The study found that 1,200 cancer cases per million people were attributable to diesel exhaust, most from trucks, but also from port activiti...
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