Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://archive.gijn.org/tag/forced-labor/page/2/)
This section was written by Migrant-Rights.org’s Vani Saraswathi. Reporting around labor migration in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is often framed around portraying migrant workers as victims, and does not recognize their agency or adequately capture their aspirational journey for a better life for their families and themselves.
Disappearing people benefits the perpetrators in several ways: it considerably complicates any investigation, the person — dead or alive — remains hidden most of the time, and it can be mixed or confused with other crimes, such as kidnapping, child abduction, human trafficking, forced recruitment, murder, or desecration of a human corpse.
Slavery is not a vestige of the past, and according to UN data there are an estimated 40 million victims of modern slavery today. An all-star team of journalists, editors, and consultants who have investigated and exposed extraordinary cases of modern slavery and forced labor shared their stories and tips for reporters at GIJC21.
There are 23 million migrant workers in the Gulf, but reporting in this region presents a series of unique and often difficult challenges for investigative journalists due to widespread restrictions on press freedom and threats to reporters’ security. GIJN and Migrants-Rights.org have collaborated to update this bilingual guide to educate journalists on best practices, tools, and country-specific resources for covering the subject, all against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This updated and expanded guide was written in cooperation with Migrant-Rights.org. Illustrations are by Marcelle Louw.
These tips were provided by Yasin Kakande, Ugandan journalist deported for covering migrant worker issues in the United Arab Emirates. Media Environment
A journalist seeking to write about human trafficking in the UAE has to understand that any writing seen as contrary to the government narrative is a punishable offense.
These tips were provided by a researcher on domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.
Media Environment
The media environment in Saudi Arabia is repressive and freedom of speech and expression is limited. The country has repeatedly received heavy criticism from Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Americans for Democracy, and Human Rights in Bahrain, among others.
These tips were provided by Vani Saraswathi, a former Qatar-based journalist and associate editor for Migrant-Rights.org. Media Environment
While Qatar is home to the Al Jazeera network, the global satellite television news network based in the nation’s capital, Doha, there is little or no tolerance for critical reporting within the country.
Media Environment
Oman’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but with strong limitations. The 1984 Press and Publications law further outlines the restrictions on journalism and journalists in the country and explicitly prohibits defamation of the ruling family.
Media Environment
Freedom of speech in Kuwait is protected according to Articles 36 and 37 of the country’s constitution. However, that freedom is limited according to what is “specified by the law.”
Criticizing the nation’s top political leader, the Emir of Kuwait, is illegal and could lead to more than five years in prison, physical abuse, extreme interrogation, or deportation.