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1/ Central Asian migrant workers recruited by Russian companies to dig trenches in occupied parts of Ukraine are complaining that they are not being paid, or in at least one case, are not even being allowed back into Russia. ⬇️ 
2/ The Sistema investigative project reports that a Moscow-based construction company recruited migrant workers from Tajikistan to dig trenches and build dugouts in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine in January 2023.
3/ The workers were to be paid a collective sum of 800,000 rubles ($11,400 at the January exchange rate) to dig a kilometer-long trench with dugouts. It was 15 km from the front line, so they were not concerned about being attacked. They lived in abandoned houses near Tokmak.
4/ The company's co-owner allegedly short-changed them, paying them only 600,000 rubles. The workers stopped digging and those who could afford to do so went home. Those who could not stayed in the occupied region, awaiting payment.
5/ The workers submitted a complaint in Moscow but found no help there. Their foreman, a man named Nurullo, says: "There are no police there [in Zaporizhzhia], only the military, they do whatever they want, shoot, blow up, bury them, they are accountable only to themselves."
6/ Three of the workers were then detained and roughed up by the police. "They were pushing, trying to intimidate us. But I said, 'Do whatever you want. They said, 'Do you know that you might face a life sentence for going there? We said we were working, not fighting."
7/ The company that employed them has denied any wrongdoing and claims that the workers were cheated by their foreman. "Our company was treated very badly, [these are] extremely dishonest people."
8/ "Their foremen ditch their people, and then these people demand money from the organisation they work for. We encountered this kind of situation twice, and we barely got rid of these people."
9/ In some cases, migrant workers have been unable to re-enter Russia because – despite the annexations – the border is still treated as an international one. The Migrant Media project reports that a Kyrgyz man named Azamat is trapped in the Luhansk region, unable to leave.
10/ Azamat travelled to Luhansk last year to work as a builder repairing war damage on behalf of another Russian construction firm. He was unofficially employed, without a contract, but this did not initially seem to be a problem. He was stopped when he tried to return to Russia.
11/ "They said I was on the blacklist. It turns out they wrote my date of birth down wrong. They also said something about a visa. But Kyrgyz people do not need one! But they said I had to check this myself through the Ministry of Internal Affairs!"
12/ Azamat was told that he was banned from entering Russia and would be fined 300,000 rubles ($3,744) or imprisoned for 4 years if he did so. His passport expires today, adding to his predicament. He faces a 20 year jail sentence if he surrenders to the Ukrainians.
13/ Human rights activists in Moscow are trying to get Azamat home with the assistance of the Kyrgyz Embassy. Hundreds or possibly even thousands of other Central Asian migrants are thought to be working for the Russians in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
14/ Activist Anisa Jeenbekova warns migrants: "Don't go there! First of all, it's dangerous. The laws of the Russian Federation do not work on this territory: this zone is still considered the territory of another country.
15/ "If you are refused entry to Russia and you somehow cross the border anyway, your stay here will be illegal and you will not be able to fly home from Russia. Think about your life, your future!"
16/ This is not the first time that central Asian migrants – who are often exploited in Russia – have encountered difficulties in working in occupied areas of Ukraine. Some have reported being lured to the region by "deceit" and not being paid. /end
https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1620452397754748928
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