You'd be shocked how much of our "friends" in MENA still have legal slavery for non citizens. When an employer can legally confiscate someone's passport and one can only leave the country with their authorization, it is slavery.

I have no idea why we in the west consider that normal and look the other way... What am I saying, I know, oil & VC money...

Some of them also bring their Filipino, India, Nepali, or African slave maids in Europe and everybody looks the other way, they have too much money to be criticized...

They are so brazen about slavery they routinely sell their slaves on Instagram or Facebook ads, with copies such as "doesn't need much food","will sleep on the floor", "will work 20 hours a day"...

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50228549

> "African worker, clean and smiley," said one listing. Another: "Nepalese who dares to ask for a day off."

> When speaking to the sellers, the undercover team frequently heard racist language. "Indians are the dirtiest," said one, describing a woman being advertised.

They are dehumanized at first place, but the level of racism in these places, on top of all that is shocking...

▲ fmbb 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> When an employer can confiscate someone's passport and one can only leave the country with their authorization, it is slavery.

This happens in Europe as well.

It is not legal, but it is the only way the Scandinavian berry market works at all. You don’t even need a huge market for this to be allowed to happen. You just need _a_ market and workers that are desperate enough to be tricked.

▲ RetroTechie 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

On a side note: be VERY suspicious if you ever come across a situation, where person identified by a passport, does not keep (more exactly: control) it themselves. This is a big red flag you've encountered some sort of exploitative (and possibly illegal) situation. Please remember!

Quoting from my own passport:

"The bearer of this passport may pass it to a third party only if there is a statutory obligation to do so".

Denying the freedom of an employee to end a work relation with their employer & leave, does not pass that bar.

▲ runsWphotons 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is completely a figment of your imagination.

▲ manarth 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Passport confiscation is a common sign of modern slavery.

    "he was lured in with the false promise of a well-paid job in the UK"
    "The gang confiscated the passports of all their victims"

It's not legal. There are definitions of "Modern Slavery" and descriptions of the practices and warning signs because it is still an issue in contemporary times, including in Europe.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2kdg84zj4wo

▲ regenschutz 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No, it's real. Every year, there are several news articles about berry pickers being abused, at least here in Sweden (not sure about the other Scandinavian countries). Here's [0] just ONE of the myriad of articles I could find, but there are so, so, so many more (and even worse ones) [1].

[0]: (In Swedish) Berry entrepreneurs suspected of trafficking Thai nationals, (2025). https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vasternorrland/barforetag-...

[1]: (In Swedish) Berry pickers (Topic). https://www.svt.se/nyheter/om/barplockare

Both are from SVT, the public broadcaster in Sweden.

	▲	ronjakoi 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Similar situation in Finland. There have only recently been some consequences for the berry companies and reforms are underway. The pickers would come mainly from Thailand with tourist visas. This year a majority of the visas have been denied and the berry companies are throwing tantrums. They've been engaging in illegal price-fixing, too.
	▲	insane_dreamer 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The difference is that in Sweden it happens but at least it's illegal. In Dubai there's nothing illegal about it and therefore much more widespread.

▲ 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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