A few days ago The Global Slavery Index was released ranking 162 countries. The ranking was based on a combination of three factors:
– estimated prevalence of modern slavery by population
– a measure of child marriage
– a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country
A number one ranking is the worst, 160 is the best and Kuwait came in at 100 which is bad but compared to neighboring countries Kuwait did better. That’s not saying much but still, UAE ranked 88 for example while Saudi Arabia came in at 82 and Bahrain and Qater both at 86 96.
You can download the PDF with the full rankings along with more explanations and further details by clicking this [Link]
53 replies on “The 2013 Global Slavery Index, it’s kinda bad”
b/s
usa should be on top of the list
indeed. don’t bother with these surveys and indexes. mostly they are biased, based on very limited info, and have other agendas.
i agree, but this list is for middle east & africa that is why they are not there
actually in terms of slavery. Kuwait is a lot worse than these organisations can measure since most of it is unreported. I don’t understand what you mean by the US should be on top of the list… slavery is connected with a number of factors including human trafficking.
Unpaid wages means slavery, forced work beyond contracted hours means slavery, confiscated passports means slavery, racially based salary schemes…
But of course tonnes of Kuwaitis will come on here saying how Kuwait is the best place in the world to live in and this happens everywhere in the world. classic deflection!
+1,000,000
Most slavery anywhere would be unreported though. You could say the same thing about any country.
If you’re Kuwaiti then Kuwait really is one of the best places to live in the world. If you’re not it’s not. I don’t think that’s a huge secret. The way a Kuwaiti experiences Kuwait and the way an accountant making 250KD does are completely different, they’re basically talking about two different countries when they try to compare things.
Most slavery everywhere is unreported. USA has far bigger human trafficking issues than Kuwait.
Unpaid wages means slavery, it was recently discovered that several farm owners in USA enslaved ”aliens” (undocumented workers from Mexico) for more than 10 years.
These organizations are the best at measuring slavery and most of them list USA above Kuwait in human trafficking and slavery thus USA is doing FAR worse than Kuwait is.
Racially based salary schemes? That doesn’t fit the definition of slavery and USA did this for numerous centuries (probably still does).
USA and Europe are supposed to preach human rights yet everyone knows that eastern Europe is a prime hub of slavery (Eastern European governments know but turn a blind eye).
LOL, why is that? There is slavery in the US too but not to the scale as in the Middle East. Ask yourself how many rights those street cleaners really have. Or what about the entire labor class.
agreed. and an accountant making 250 is nowhere NEAR the slavery i am talking about.
Slavery in eastern Europe is far worse than anything in Kuwait.
Eastern Europe and Western Europe can’t be lumped in together. Even the report says that.
Just for the record, the report did not cite the sources which were used to produce that ranking for Kuwait (probably the same for rest of GCC countries) nor did it provide a list of any contributors.
Most importantly, neither the report or the Walk Free Foundation website stated its source of funding. It may have mentioned “GLOBAL FUND TO END SLAVERY” somewhere… but where is the money coming from? Reputable organizations would state that clearly.
Their wiki entry is one sentence only.
What happens now a days is if country A wants to attack country B, country A would give some organization money, ask them to produce report that slander country B. Then once the report is published, Country A will use its media and its allies media to promote the findings of the said organization… with highlights on “slavery” in country B.
Average citizen will only gather from the news the following: country B is bad, they have slavery, said international organization, reported on BBC or CNN or oneof the well known news sources.
Who is international organization? Average citizen doesn’t know and maybe wont bother finding out. Is the news true? Its on bbc, so they might be naive to believe its true.
Now country A will start slandering country B in media and everywhere based on “news reports” that were originally built on report funding by country A.
The question is… where does mark fit in all of this? cuz I’ve noticed that he’s been posting this reports ahead of everyone else even though they are not from a well known sources.
Mark’s obviously collaborating with foreign intelligence in attempts to undermine a regime.
Irrespective of how correct the survey is, even if we were 10 spots higher or 30 spots lower, it does imply there is a problem.
Even if we were #159 there would still be room for improvement.
Some issues aren’t about how much better or worse we are but how we can better our selves.
The argument is not whether we should be at the first ten spots or the lowest… the question is.. should we even be listed there?
If they’re going to put us on the list then they should include all developed countries as well. If they’re going to argue that we are worse than developed countries then I will ask them to provide evidence.
Yes, I believe there is plenty of room for improvement in labor situation in Kuwait… however I believe that the use of “Slavery” when describing our situation is flawed, unjust, and provocative.
I lived and worked in Paris for almost six months, and trust me when I tell you… I saw modern slavery at its best. What we have in Kuwait CANNOT compare to what they have over there. Just because it happens in a European setting does not make it any better than what happens anywhere else inthe world.
You missed my point :/
can’t even tell you by how much he missed it lol
You’re narrow minded. You fail to see the broad picture. I’ve mixed with many people like you… Just because you have a ‘western’ name you believe you’re a superior thinker. Sadly you’re empowered by locals who agree with this thinking and keep bringing you in to ‘enlighten’ them. Sadly, that inflates your feeling of superiority further!
I did not “miss” any point. I created my own point and argument. If you feel you have points let them stand.
Still missing the point.
Lol I love this argument
“I didn’t miss the point. I made my own point deal with it”
Yes Kuwait should be listed here based on what they judge by. We treat laborers like shit.
No we don’t generally but some employers do. The same applies everywhere else in the world.
If you’re trying to say Kuwait is worse than everywhere else in the world then either you’re naive, misinformed or have something else on your mind that make you give such claim.
Trust me, the “civilized western world” is no better than us. NO BETTER at all. The US, France, Germany and the rest are not better than us in this subject in particular.
Keep telling me missing the point, you all sounding like stupid ignorants.
This survey doesn’t say we’re worse than the rest of the world. Actually since there are 162 countries we’re clearly above average at a rating of 100.
You have to be blind if you really think the general way we treat foreigners is comparable to the way say, the US does. And yes “we” do, domestic workers are treated horribly all the time and they’re directly employed in households, not large companies.
The difference between mistreatment of employees by some companies, and mistreatment of employees condoned by the government itself because of their refusal to change the kifala system is huge. The reason Kuwait gets accusations of human trafficking thrown on it is because of that system.
ok this proves you live in lalaland. I cant even list WHICH companies treat their labourers like shit because then all the names come out and then I’d get arrested for slander. cus yknow – slander.. pointing out a crime is SO much worse than crushing the life of another human being.
classic deflection. ‘we are not worse than anywhere else.’ problems are never addressed as long as the average local says shit like this!
aaa: the Kafala system will get replaced soon.
I don’t see the point to continue this “argument” with your kind of mindset ..
Read Wishbone’s response, read it again, then again and one more time..
i can only assume that you haven’t seen ANYTHING in Kuwait … you have to dig a little deep to be able to view it but Kuwait can hardly be compared to most European countries I have visited. I urge you to visit any of the embassies related to the domestic labour and maid situation. Almost ALL my expat friends have their passports confiscated by bastard bosses – ill let you guess where they are from. Beatings, rapes where the rapist is scot free and the person raped has been thrown in prison.
You seem to not know anything about the true situation of slavery in Kuwait. Kuwait has been a slave trading and human trafficking zone for YEARS now.
Slavery in eastern Europe is FAR worse than anything in Kuwait. Rapists in Kuwait don’t get scot free and the rape victim don’t get thrown in jail for reporting the crime. If you report a rape in Kuwait, you don’t get thrown in jail. Please refrain from spreading lies about Kuwait.
You don’t seem to know anything about the true situation in Kuwait. Most people who hire domestic maids DO pay the required salary — a minority don’t. A minority don’t represent the entire population.
It is not socially acceptable to enslave a maid (unpaid labor is NOT socially acceptable) whereas in the USA it was socially acceptable to rape and mutilate an unpaid slave. You’re not ones to judge, really.
The Kafala system is being replaced.
Absolutely.
Pakistan is ranked 3. lol
The kifala system and the way it gives workers no real power to challenge their employers is what brings about the slavery charges against the entire GCC.
Kuwait has an updated shiny new labor law which protects someone like an office worker, but if a maid tells her employer “The labor law says this” the employer can lock her in a room with no way to call the police, take her passport so she can’t leave the country without him knowing, and withhold wages. How can she complain to her embassy if she has no way to contact them?
The entire GCC has a huge population of workers who are either on domestic visas (maids, drivers) or something like a construction worker for a contractor – those guys really have no rights, how often do you see trash guys begging for money? The companies they work for often know they beg and withhold wages because they figure they don’t need to pay them (By the way, the wage they’re withholding is something like 30 KD a month).
In the US illegal immigrants are put in a similar situation – they can’t ask for better wages because they can be reported by their employer, so they do a lot of backbreaking agricultural work for illegally long hours at illegally low pay. It’s a huge difference when the laws of the country allow it though.
That said it’s hilarious that Israel is only 111 when they literally erected a prison to house large portions of the population in
The kefala system will get outlawed soon. The Kuwaiti government will replace it.
The ENTIRE GCC doesn’t have a huge population of workers who are either maids, drivers or construction workers.
The vast majority of Saudi Arabia’s workforce is native. Only 10% of Saudi Arabia’s population are foreigners.
Oman does not have a huge population of foreigners, only a very small minority of Oman’s population are foreigners.
Most of Bahrain’s workforce is Bahraini — foreigners are only a minority in the total population.
The last time I checked: Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are part of the GCC.
“The kefala system will get outlawed soon. The Kuwaiti government will replace it”
I’ve been hearing this for 15 years at least.
Ooh btw in case anyone was wondering why the Discrimination score for Kuwait was so high, on page 16 they mention a big part of it is your treatment of stateless citizens which is why.
oh yeah? So Germany is a role model when dealing with its stateless citizens? Yeah right…
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/04/roma-a11.html?view=print
This is only one example of hundreds that you’ll read about people committing suicide as German police break into their houses after midnight to deport them. I heard about one lady who cut her wrist as she was being arrested hoping that they would keep her husband and her children in germany after she’s dead.
they threw her body in ambulance and shipped her family back to her country. Her eldest had trouble settling back in the countries they were sent to because he always considered himself german, he talked german, thought like a german, and bleieved he’s a german. He ended up committing suicide himself too.
You think Americans are any better?
A familiar sight?
https://nimg.sulekha.com/others/original700/guatemala-us-deportation-2008-11-7-18-33-33.jpg
at least in Kuwait, do they do this in Kuwait?
https://api.ning.com/files/GXEpz-asoKXY284lQksyeqspsuywjD*by7ArQOW8PB2-GffU3QFk2sqhgtJJ621xm3VXJvFMfxtpBUHCWcVeblTMVDvBUusW/immigration_child_010511thumb640xauto1892.jpg
just saying
“Her eldest had trouble settling back in the countries they were sent to because he always considered himself german, he talked german, thought like a german, and bleieved he’s a german. He ended up committing suicide himself too.” Really? That doesn’t sound familiar at all?
Most Bedoon do not speak the Kuwaiti Arabic dialect. The vast majority of Bedoon speak the Najdi Arabic dialect.
Najdi Arabic is not Kuwaiti Arabic.
WAIT aren’t you the same person who said that Kuwait shouldn’t allow mixed nationality children to be Kuwaiti?
hahaha – CAUGHT OUT!
The treatment of ”STATELESS CITIZENS”?
I have no idea where you get your information from. There are no stateless citizens in Kuwait. The ”bedoon” are not Kuwaitis, they are Bedouins from Najd who mostly moved to Kuwait in the 1970s and 1980s. The government refuses to naturalize them because they have naturalized enough of them — they all turned into Islamists.
Only a minority of Bedoon actually qualify for Kuwaiti citizenship — the remaining 200,000 have no right to Kuwaiti citizenship.
This right here is why “Discrimination” is listed as 100% on the report
Why should Kuwait naturalize 100,000 foreigners who haven’t contributed to the development of the state and haven’t achieved anything other than tribalism and Islamism?
Kuwait’s citizenship laws do not permit the naturalization of new immigrants, yet the government naturalized over 200,000 new immigrants between the years 1970-1980. They are now referred to as ”Badu” and were primarily naturalized for political reasons (monarchy needed bigger support).
The government encouraged them to migrate to Kuwait and subsequently naturalized them, even though they had no claims to Kuwaiti citizenship and the people who actually deserved Kuwaiti citizenship (Indians, Palestinians, Egyptians, Iranians and others who had practically built Kuwait in its early stages) were denied citizenship because they were perceived as politically radical and disloyal.
Now what has happened is the naturalized Saudis of recent Bedouin ancestry have turned against the government. In the beginning, they were very loyal to the monarchy.
India tops the list. At least we’re good at being evil.
Who created this index?? Let me guess, the exceptional westerner race. Blonde and Blue eyed does nothing wrong huh…. Hitler much?
Ah yes, everyone knows about those White Blonde Blue Eyed Singaporeans, South Koreans, and Cubans, who all placed higher on this list than Germany
Baaaah said the sheep, baaaah
You have a typo. Bahrain and Qatar are ranked 96 not 86.
thanks
Brilliant report! For those of you commenting here from countries that ranked 3 or 4, who obviously desired a better life than in your homeland, considering that you ranked really low and travelled to 100, but wished you worked in 88 and could only dream of living and working in 138, 144, 134 or 160, for example, you should understand this report. The risk that anyone takes to leave their homeland and work in a foreign location, this report stresses that there is a degree of risk of being enslaved which means long work hours against your stipulated contract, if there was one, with no pay and stripped of your individual basic legal rights with no ability to render the situation. Slavery exists in all these countries, but what separates 3 from 138 is that there are legal systems in place to protect workers from exploitation and those that enslave other human being are punished duly under the legal system. It is not status quo to openly deny basic worker’s rights and nor to tolerate slavery within it’s borders that goes unpunished under the law. One suggestion for Kuwait is to abandon the ‘kafala’ system and possibly umbrella all foreign workers under a centralized government company which would control all visas in the system. The present necessity/ability of individual Kuwaitis to sponsor a foreign person would be outlawed and this would end visa trafficking in Kuwait. It is also important that a labor court be set up within this company that settles all labor disputes between employees and employer in one central location.
nail hit squarely on head.
Kuwait WILL abandon the kafale system soon — it will get replaced. It will get outlawed.
funny though that people are dying to come to Kuwait to live here from almost all nationalities .. even accountant that makes 250 kd are happy to be in Kuwait
I was once in a room with an egyptian and a syrian and they mentioned the fact the almost 85% of expat from Arabic countries won’t go back to their countries anymore
Well yeah Egypt just had a revolution then a coup, and Syria is in the middle of a civil war. It’s not like many people have a choice.
At the moment the entire gulf is relatively safe, stable, speaks the same language and is close by. At the end of the day it’s a short term solution because most people coming here have the plan to work here for a couple of years, make some money, then go back home. If they can afford it do you think they’d rather come to the gulf or go to the US/Canada where they can become citizens?