On her first day of work, Adau realised she had made a big mistake.
“We got our uniforms, not even knowing exactly what we were going to do. From the first day of work we were taken to the drones factory. We stepped in and we saw drones everywhere and people working. Then they took us to our different work stations.”
Twenty-three-years-old and originally from South Sudan, Adau says last year she was lured to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, on the promise of a full-time job.
It’s a form of indentured labour, and these kinds of arrangements are still common worldwide. Advertise overseas in low income countries, confiscate passports on arrival, take most of the advertised wages for expenses and don’t let them leave until their contract is finished.
It’s how Qatar built all their world cup stadiums for example. More labourers died building those stadiums than were killed in 9/11.