An employer took away passports from Kyrgyz women in the capital of Iraq, Baghdad. One of the victims, Alina Abdysheva, posted about it on social media.
According to her, she came to this city a year and three months ago to earn money. She works as an eyelash extension specialist.
«I came here with the help of a girl, who sent the same specialists in the beauty industry under a one-year contract. The beauty salon is called Luxury Beauty Baghdad. We have a work contract. But my boss does not always comply with it. Because of this, we had disagreements with him. They brought me and another girl from my city to Baghdad through Kurdistan. They said that after we arrived, they would start making a work visa for us, and for this they took our passports and have not returned them to this day,» the Kyrgyz woman noted.
Aliya Abdysheva noted that the contract also stated that the beauty salon would withhold $3,000 from the salary as a deposit so that the workers would not leave for their home countries before the end of the contract or change jobs. At the end of the contract, they were obliged to return this amount.
«A couple of months before the end of the contract, the management began to fine us under various pretexts. «Our salon, our rules,» they said. When we asked where our documents were, they answered that everything was in progress. They asked us to wait. My contract and the contract of another girl will end on September 1, and on August 21 they called the police and handed us over to them under the pretext that we did not have documents. During the interrogation, the police officers realized that our management were fraudsters and let us go. After the interrogation, fearing for our lives, we packed our things and left this place,» the Kyrgyzstani writes.
Aliya Abdysheva noted that due to the lack of documents, Kyrgyzstanis cannot contact law enforcement agencies. «Two my friends and me were left without passports, money and a specific place to live. Our former employer is now threatening, slandering and insulting us. We can’t even hire a good lawyer, because we have no money. We contacted the consulate in Kuwait on this issue, but we still haven’t received a definitive answer,» the Kyrgyzstani emphasized.
The victim contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan for help. She added that Alina Kanybek kyzy and Nina Tarasenko also found themselves in a similar situation together with her.
Commenting on the appeal, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic told 24.kg news agency that yesterday morning they sent a request on this issue to the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Kuwait.
«They are aware of this and are working to resolve the situation. The issue is under control,» the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.
