The Promised Land?
Chinese workers exploited in the promised land
Obliterated from public view by the Middle East peace process, thousands of Chinese immigrant workers are exploited in Israel. Cheap labour is big business here.
As the closure of internal borders lock out Palestinian workers, Chinese labourers flood into the 'Promised Land' to replace them. Daniel Seah of 'Power Lee' maintains that the Chinese are 'quite naive and culturally they are not inclined to criticise things. That was before they downed their tools and marched onto construction sites to demonstrate against poor working conditions and low pay. We tell the story of Xue Chen who had to borrow $6000 to pay his agency to come to Israel and now only earns $3 an hour to repay his loan. When he complained to his boss he was beaten up. Orin Karni of the Israeli Ministry of Labour feels ashamed at the way these people are being treated. But Motty Orian of 'Global Manpower' maintains that 'the Chinese sleep in one room in China, so they shouldn''t complain about their conditions here.' Human Rights organisations are calling for the government to take immediate action.
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