Maldives “enslaving” migrant workers by withholding passports, warns Indian official
18 Oct 2012, 6:43 PM
Neil Merrett
A senior Indian diplomatic official in the Maldives has expressed concern over the ongoing practice of confiscating passports of migrant workers arriving to the country from across South Asia – likening the practice to slavery.
The diplomatic source, who wished not to be identified, has told Minivan News that although several government ministries were critical of the practice of withholding the passports of foreign staff coming to work in the country, the state had taken no action.
Some Ministries – such as the Education Ministry – themselves routinely confiscate passports of migrant workers.
“I’ve not met a single government minister who says that such a system [withholding passports] is legal,” the source said, claiming that they had seen little “real progress” from authorities in trying to address these concerns over the last 10 months.
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