Thousands of Timorese are approached in their country with proposals to travel to Portugal, work contracts, accommodation, legalization and food for the payment of three to four thousand euros.
This year alone, around 5,000 East Timorese have already been seduced by these promises from criminal networks who, in order to gain the trust of these victims, provide copies of employment contracts or terms of responsibility signed by other Timorese citizens residents in Portugal, the Jornal de Notícias advances this Sunday.
When they arrive in Portugal, the victims face a completely different scenario than what they had been promised: low wages, precarious working conditions and unhealthy housing. Many have been abandoned and are no longer homeless.
Every month more than 550 Timorese arrive in the national territory, under the visa exemption agreements between Timor and Portugal. Jornal de Notícias explains that the hundreds of cases reported throughout the country, as well as the high flow of immigration, led the Portuguese authorities to open investigations into suspected human trafficking for labor exploitation.
In the spotlight of investigationswhich are currently in charge of the Immigration and Borders Service, are Portuguese companies owned by Indonesian citizens (from Hindustan, a region that includes India and Pakistan), who provide labor for seasonal services in agriculture.
Source: Observadora
