BANGLADESHI PRISON IN WAIGANI STORE

There is a very disturbing situation in a store at Waigani, a suburb of Port Moresby.  The store is run by a group of Bangladeshi young men who have taken over total control of the women workers who run the shop and food bar.

They employ and imprison the female workers. They are not allowed to leave the store and will be pursued and forced to return if they do leave even for a short time.

Female workers are not allowed to talk to customers. If they have a conversation with a customer they are reported to the Bangladeshi owner who interrogates them and demands to know what was said on both sides. Privacy is non existent. Sexual harrassment is routine.

One customer once passed a note to a worker and the Bangladeshi guard demanded the note be handed over.

Perhaps they are afraid of the talk of diarrhoea in the food bar. A health officer lives over the road, It means that family members can not come and talk to a PNG woman prisoner on family problems.

They have to wait till half day off or send texts by mobile phone. The women belong to the store management.

At night girls finish work at 8.00pm and are required to eat the left over food from the food shop. They are then locked in. There are two gates locked to prevent them from leaving. Some women have not been to their homes in a long time.

On their off days, they are still required to return in the afternoon to start work again. So the PNG slave workers have a half a day off each week.

Last week the Bangladeshi bosses were confronted by the head of AIDS Holistics who was asked by a female worker to help after one drunken Bangladeshi had spat a mouthful of beer over her as she sat at her work place. He was a frustrated harrasser.

AIDS Holistics has always followed a policy of gender equality and was concerned at the obvious sense of ownership over young women by the Bangladeshi foreigners.

The manager of the Bangladeshi store shouted at the founder of AIDS Holistics that he had no right to speak to the women as they belonged to the store and under total control of  the Bangladeshi owners. They were reminded that the women were PNG citizens but that meant very little to them.

The young woman spat on has since left the store. Other workers are not allowed to speak to her despite the fact that she was their top worker. These foreigners are Bangladeshi nazis.

Nothing has changed in the last week. These arrogant foreigners think they are in total control of the situation and able to continue the imprisonment of the women. They still make them live behind locked gates. They still control their movement out of the store.

Other companies drive their workers home and pick them up in a small bus. But these foreigners think it is easier just to imprison them behind locked doors and bring them out to work each morning. Any shortfalls in money come out of workers'pay.

These foreigners should be investigated by Foreign Affairs and their visas and work permits examined.

Daily hit tally:  95, 230

Russians and Americans lead the field as always.