Russia is undergoing change at a phenomenal pace the economy has boomed over the last two decades and a new affluent class arose together with the new cathedrals of glass and steel but down on the ground in the shadow of that wealth the shadow economy has also been flourishing and with aid exploitation and modern slavery on a massive scale as that often the worst of it i was scared theyd kill me if i run away. Denied freedom hope the victims are complete get other peoples mercy to target the good how did this appalling situation no wrongs. But although the politicians are doing little to address the problem we meet the people who are taking action a single dollar bill thing is that in russia people are being in slave by fellow russians you dont find that anywhere else in europe. This is one of many illegal brickyard in the doggess down region in the south of the russian federation. Not all the workers are here voluntarily many were abducted to toil away in the punishing conditions and without getting paid the money not be any camps with fences and guns but these people are slaves as we learn here modern day slavery doesnt necessarily involve chains and whips. This is alexei he works for an engineer and that frees forced labor as. Alexa knows this young man is a slave hes been here since june the legs the demands that the foreman pays him wages to which he responds maybe but only five something in the till weeks alexei asks what hes scared of an office to take him and others away from here but the young man is reluctant to get involved he was brought here against his will and is clearly scared. People think if someone is not locked up or in change then theyre not a slave even if they have to work hard you know the man has suffered physical abuse as he numb reveals to his family. Its unbelievable what goes on there. And. They punched me in the face for nothing. Thats the. Most slaves who are put to work like this men from rural areas with low levels of education. Who are willing to do very menial work. That we paid work without a contract. To which. These men alike was looking for help. When we are asked whether he will come with our legs say or stay he thinks hell come and. The others agree otherwise youll dine here alexei tells them to pack their backs. The first step is to take the bus to must go from dad the old travel back to their respective homes but many of these stories of exploitation happened to begin in must go itself sashas night mass started on Komsomolskaya Square a busy hub home to three railway stations rural migrants gather on the square looking for work zappa was one of them. And they all have bags. And thats how he can spot the people who on from here that. Traffickers approach the man with promises of a good jump off the books anyone wanting to work in moscow officially has to be registered in the city migrants from the former soviet republics but even rural russians dont stand a chance. To such a comes from a Community Just three hundred kilometers from moscow but without registration papers he wasnt allowed to work in the capital he was the perfect victim for a traficant no money no education young and unmarried sasha drank a beer with the stranger then everything went down and the next thing he knew he was in an illegal brickyard hed been drugged and kidnapped. Zeshan had been enslaved like an estimated one million other people in the russian federation. Yes thats an hour slow by was scared theyd kill me if i ran away when i arrived in the brick yard i realized there was no point trying to escape. Ok their vehicle there were mountains all around us yep snow short on the locals only know each other very well with other users i see there with the flag. On the coalition as an outsider without knowledge of the area you can forget about escape us on his last me as a chuckle up to a different zone doesnt have a fixed address he sleeps at friends homes and is borderline homeless man like him are a such ideal targets for those wanting to exploit them they work without contracts and believe the promises that theyll be paid a decent wage those who realize theyll never get any money try to get away and you will be good as they escape but just end up in a different brick yard even though cuz then it was i want them on the edge of the bosses all know each other. They simply switch back at skate workers but the most that i knew his life here. They bought them after all with the money that they called travel costs can you tell us about it and ill bet on that asshole that. The twenty five year old felt powerless like all the others who shared his fate he decided to stay where he was. In there and i was probably hoping for a better way out that someone would help me get away i waited for a very long time maybe two months old. And i really missed the last. Show was able to get in touch with the. Tenant tiva on a borrowed phone the activists working for alternative or freed him with the help of the local police. The organizations must go headquarters are located in the apartment of alexeis parents. In his childhood bedroom. The thirty one year old has devoted his life to political activism which he sees. A colleague in douglas stan received a call for help from another slave labor. The cooler says hes working on a farm alexei asks if he knows his location. Hes told by the man on the phone that there are two of them alexei wants him to take photos and send them to him so he can post them on the social media platforms to collect donations for their travel costs. Alexei has voltaire and other revolutionary role models on the wall standing for freedom of thought even if alexeis himself dependent on others is sixty five year old pediatrician mother supports him financially. Logically and basically a positive person who says he should help others i just worry about him because he doesnt have a wife or children he has nothing no income fortunately i have a pension and im still working to. Rational you have im still rocking at sixty five that is how i manage to care for myself and support him a bit too much with. What jobs could i do on top of this youre not paying taxes or anything towards your pension dont intend to. And your pension you dont think about your future theyll steal it from me anyway rubbish moscow wasnt built in a day either. Mark when you got out of democracy in america and europe also took time. Out of. Africa to whos going to steal your pension where arguing again because you dont think about your future. What are we good. I will never agree he says ive been shaped by the soviet era hes a democrat has an opposition mentality. And. Shes worried the sums now thirty one but in terms of capitalist russia hes going to have a tough time without money alexei leaves moscow and heads for darkest on the russian republic on the caspian sea its one of the areas he visits most frequently in the fight against exploitation. With a population of just three million and an Unemployment Rate of more than fifteen percent douglas down has one of the smallest and weakest economies in the russian federation. On paper the republic is independent as regards domestic policy but economically its completely aligned to russia moscow guarantees military security and in return and joyce access to the oil reserves here. Alexei and design a tentative as representative in dug a stand out looking for slaves in a brick yard some of the victims have been here for years they fear reprisals from their bosses by years condition the government the victims tell us were too scared to talk. Sometimes they beat us or lock us up and the music business was but when you approach us its ok. I mean i was going to do it. Weve become psychologists we can talk to people like them now everything starts with a small step. Then we agree an initial meeting if theyve been at a factory for a long time they went immediately trust us to do it i do mr james the situation at the keenest which we have to build up trust first before we can get them out of there which im very proud of in. The endless fields of bricks given an idea of just how many people have to work here often against their will. The kilns are all fired with gas illegally diverted siphoned off from the oil industry im filtered the place stinks of sulfur. He was one of them i can hardly breathe because of the smoke. As you know the brick yards zakia on dalek say can move about freely here the factories dont have extra guards the owners tend to be high ranking local officials theyre the law as a result of foreman arent afraid of any consequences if i despise what it says. Zakia cautiously approaches to work as best. We can we come in and show you some pictures of us whether we want to know if youve seen the people on them before or station this post was a call the words i dont. Write dont you that you dont. Like you do you know any of these people weve had they work in brick yards to. Watch no i dont know any of them theres a soldier had to go after the ships many people are missing but theres a couple more but the movie then just the tip of the iceberg it took me to yours. Well look here. My name is buzz much i want to tell you something take a more thorough look around it but not through the front door like this you understand a little more in conspicuously question some of the people without getting seen throw some light on all of this and there are four or five hundred yards in the area maybe one of the people youre looking for is that but i havent told everyone. Now for that. Many workers are former prisoners others have lost the old wives some of them have been here for almost twenty years not all of the most laves but those who are often stay here and dont try to escape. What does a lot more than what you see which one we cant explain it how can you live here very teen years and not trying to escape that old go then and they go which. They told sit. And they sit down and you will see did. This apparent lack of will power seems to be the result of years of oppression stuck here and alexeis say its a reflection of the general mindset in society those who are right at the bottom have only themselves to blame. Today the man from alternative a didnt have any luck not here. Back in moscow two thousand kilometers from the brickyard a new tower block is rising on the skyline story by story. Most of the workers on these construction sites are Illegal Immigrants the new underclass in this mega city the people tend to come from the former soviet republics. Without work permits all registration papers they quickly fold prey to exploitation. Kuhlmann begg and his granddaughters are among the estimated one point five million Illegal Migrants in moscow alone. Will cut. The i feel like a second class human being with will and time treated at least on my betters. It doesnt matter how good your qualifications are you wont find a good job with. A good list and its not. The sixty year old is from kyrgyzstan near the chinese border it used to be part of the soviet union today its an independent country which makes it a foreign country for comin back a confusing notion forty years ago he studied in must go he also served in the soviet red army a year ago he came back here to help his daughter with her children he accepted a job as a cleaner he spent half a year cleaning ten hours a day for good money so he thought. Its rare for people my age to find employment so it felt good to know that i had a job and that id be paid the next day. And thats how it wasnt first boarded. And thats when they paid me monthly. But then it started to take longer and longer to get my money because then i continued working because i thought id be more likely to get my money that way one of them by quitting what is this. According to official statistics moskos Unemployment Rate is a mere one percent which sounds appealing for job seekers but comin back is far from an isolated case even twenty five years after the collapse of the u. S. S. R. For the former soviet citizens moscow is their city it doesnt feel like a foreign country to them. In the u. S. S. R. You just have one passport regardless of what ethnic group you belong to the next. Everyone was the same one of these little these days youre always told. We only employ our own citizens. The governor sheena said similar in kyrgyzstans its like that everywhere people dont like us. Out of. More than twenty Million People live in greater moscow the tough reality is tangible in order to regulate the labor market and migration an extra hurdle has been created for foreigners employers have to pay eight hundred euros in fees for every guest worker as a result migrants are now no longer officially employed the illegal job market is flourishing and with it exploitation the migrants are vulnerable because theyre desperate to earn money. Yet. Its no secret that a single migrant working here in russia can take care of up to three families back home. I knew i had to do with my ph d. By the money that. They need every cent on your ride thats how they end up as slaves they accept any job with or without a contract without you if you say to you they dont care if its off the books. Those are perceived. That puts many migrants in a great area if you have the courage to demand their rights that would mean the precarious stamp of revealing the status as an illegal economic migrant. Bag the caregivers grandfather is a brave exception. Not a bubba john mover is his attorney she specializes in labor law one day a week she works pro bono for an organization that fights for migrants rights with the support of the un coleman bank like many is a victim of systematic exploitation. That. Employers dont start with holding wages right away they first want to win the trust of Migrant Workers which are nice and that unites in the plot but then it begins in the third or fourth month the migrant gets paid too little but at that point they dont realize whats happening they were paid initially after all that makes them uncertain and they dont look for a new job they just continue working and listening to their employers lies and promises lads what miss they replace their workers every month they dont pay them and they keep the money for themselves doing work it out. Well if ten workers who were supposed to get fifty thousand roubles each on height you got enough for a cost by the end of the year youre sitting on a lot of money at whats called. The sixty year old former administrator was unwilling to accept the injustice he has suffered for being a migrant hes filed a lawsuit against his former employer with the help of his attorney whose daughter has also come to support him. In court theyre confronted with the cuban people and security personnel for some a microcosm of modern russia. Conduct of the few outside the court what has become of us you cant sink any lower than you or. Anyone wanting to bring their case of labor exploitation to court has to do so within three months both of the victims dont know this just. If someone doesnt find out about this right away via augen a zation or doesnt have money to consult a lawyer then that period simply expires. On top of god this time limitation serves only to protect employers coming back is determined to demand his outstanding wages forty eight thousand rubles equivalent to seven hundred eighty euros the second major hurdle for claimants is the lack of precision in the laws regarding labor exploitation and slavery its just that there are no laws that will likely be improved in the future. Quickly that would in norwalk but its difficult at the moment to apply the relevant sections as a standard of what it is in the boy instance i have to prove in court that someone was actually employed in your father the devil washing. You put your name on this list every time you clean the swimming pool. Yes i signed every time. I wanted to and i need to have this letter notarized theres just two too countries. My boss already signed here. And this. I had to show it when i entered the building. With me. According to the testimony the general direct to did the cleaning himself. That. We then had to leave the room but the judge agreed to hear the case. Over in red square tourists a mile the famous building to use the grandiose setting for selfies with the soviet union doesnt just have a visual legacy there is still various loopholes in the legal system due to the huge and rapid changes in russia in the early one nine hundred ninety s. Why is it so hard to deal with exploitation and slavery in russia today. The leading prosecutor an expert in labor law explains. This that yes section one hundred twenty seven subsection two refers to the use of slave labor but it doesnt define and slave labor. Were said to gave in the cool of is a research at the general Prosecutors Academy hes been working for years on improving legislation dealing with exploitation and slavery criminal employers have little to fear in the way of repercussions the protected by the vagueness of the law the mission who led units is old acute beach will go to tell you when you get. Every slave owner can just claim his slaves a free they choose not to leave the factory. Below she in the premier why do i say that in belarus they similarly have a section one night one that refers to the use of slave labor but it goes further you. Of slave labor and other forms of exploitation easily in league for a mixed lot obviously in the Ford Explorer that if we had that formulation in russia lawyers would have an effective tool for taking action. Was because darn it you lot you probably give us. The rooms in the academy a highly reminiscent of the soviet era the veteran legal expert doesnt think the primary reason behind the exploitation is a legal one these as its down to a fundamental problem of society. Place where you. Feel like each is good for work theres a kind of psychological provocation at work here you see pictures of happy rich people all over the television and internet theyre sitting on their yachts drinking champagne. That image appeals to us young makes us envious and what you see is not a minute it could just be all wants to have an affluent and comfortable lifestyle. But in practice most of this content change that by legal means theres a line you. Options for the youth was more than she is thats why many people look for other options criminal options its just that Human Trafficking is a big part of that could get immunized and even if you dont eat. He also told us that expectations had to be realistic that there were forces in the country working against reforms thats why the changes to the more he said would take a long time. This is another side to dagestan green and for thailand geographically and topographically a world. Way from the brick yards but this is also where we find the second major form of slavery in the federation farming. Alexei from the anti Slavery Organization atena tiva has tried down a man fools to work as a herdsman his relatives in rural russia contacted the activist after he went missing a leg say now wants to free the man and his wife. Are like saying noakes on svetlana and nikolais door slid down and says he tells her he has come to take her and her husband oh nikolais apparently outside bring the sheep into the shed the. She and her husband the been trapped an illegal working conditions for a long time before this we worked for the same boss in a brick kiln but we were told then too that we were allowed to leave weve been here for eight months. Off work. And. I paid wages or i was just working for food. The neighbor remained silent. Finally nikolai himself appears the thirty eight year old looks confused he doesnt seem to know what to make of his impending liberation. The couple dont own much the cheese was the only source of income theyd been selling it to the local market they want to take these ones with them alexy didnt know nikolai had a wife until he got here. And you. And he didnt know about the daughter either the prospects for leaving looking good the owners had been alerted. Alexei and nikolai you see them approaching because i believed it was the neighbor who raised the alone a succession. Cheshire what especially. These Liberation Mission was tend not to be dangerous when we free someone the owners dont get violent ten nobody had forced the victim to be there theyll say the victims are here voluntarily and are just making the whole thing out always the supper so you avoid it all shop at all. Ok first lets get the three of them and all their belongings into our car and then theyll drive off will follow them to. The owner hes clearly disgruntled rather he asks us for our cruise papers and wants to know why were here. Told us. Alexei says they were notified by relatives who are looking for him. There is all. The boss starts quizzing nikolai which relative is looking for you what didnt you say someone was looking for a crime says he told his boss he had to go home. Then tempers flare. Thats. The men start arguing with alexei he wants to get the boss to handle this flatlanders papers he refuses and in turn wants to see identification from alexei who likewise refuses. They tell the activists to leave us. Alexei says hell do so with both for grammar and nikolai he also threatens to call the police resistance. Then things get physical. Obvious is almost going to. Get off my property the boss shouts. Vehicle didnt get. Much about me im only shame you dont understand all that so much the clear thats. Getting violent and then facing criminal charges makes no sense not for keeping someone who only cost fifteen thousand rubles it makes much more sense for the n a to simply find a new work. That means two hundred forty euros for a new slave. Then the boss and his men turn on nikolai again they want to know what hes been up to. Leave them then. Nobody is keeping you here and the boss says. That alexei make sure svetlana and the baby get to leave as well the man wants alexei to leave right away but alexei tells him hes waiting for the mother and child. But the both suspect loughner wont be leaving like you must hear that from her personally. The boss replies ill rip your head off theyre told to leave a note come back without the police. Just go. Nick when i gets into the car out to view im noticed by the camera hes owner intervenes. So i think up he tells him to get out right away. But. Did the men drag him and alexei out of the car and then attack on camera crew as well. You know theyre good. Gresham and threats get worse well shoot you like a bunch of dogs. Alexy calls the police to come he explains that three men are threatening them and have become violent. But its an uphill battle. Slave owners know that they cannot be proven guilty. Its their word against the victims thats why none of them have to fear punishment. For knowledge of the Police Arrived the officers try to calmly determine everyones details whats happening here seems to be routine for them the officers on screen equalize a series of questions about his identity hes one of the dentity and who else is inside. Officer gets angry with the boss his friend how can he not know how and why the family came here. Hes local but even he would have known about this place he says the reason is obvious he says these people are on the fringes of society. Yes a lot alike ive talked to a lot of slave owners they always tried to convince me with one argument if they werent giving the slave any work then the slaves would lie around drunk on the ground but you know. Theyre not capable of leading an independent life at all well digitals i think that they might actually believe that its possible since the ecological but its more a case of trying to justify it to themselves morally. Slavery is an accepted grey area in russia. The police are aware of it well the owners have nothing to fear because the victims are too scared to sue. In the end the owners will pay another trafficker twenty thousand roubles for a new herdsman. Police say he believes its hard to change this mentality. Our country has known slavery for a long time. My father comes from a village near ivanova. He can remember how gave the collective farm workers their passports back one day. At a factory just they then started to be able to move around freely. In this mindset of exploiting people isnt it deeply rooted in russia. Exploits you know with. The pool with hidden pasts like nickel and circle on a easy victims only know about nikola is that he once had a run in with the law but the two dont want to say how exactly they became an slaved his wife is resigned to their fate and when they heard that we have to go home now its enough. Do you have relatives at home. I have a younger brother but i dont have any parents now weve got a new addition to the family getting the. Issue again that is just how it is. That. A bus will take the family back to russia a bus without a valid operating permit without a tax registration the shadow economy comes full circle no papers required and no questions asked we try to contact cement lama nikolai in the new lines to no avail former slaves prefer not to be reminded of the past says i like so. This was the harvest of the three hundred fifty Liberation Missions hes done so far hes not very hopeful. Which and with a good deal as long as illegal activities are more profitable than legal dealings as long as theres an Endless Supply of people from poorer regions willing to work as long as its easier to enslave people than to employ them officially as long as there are these economic reasons this slavery will continue. On this basis its hard to build a normal modern society among the little she launched. Capital of douglas time zakia alternative was local representative has received a call that reminds him of his early days working for the organization. It was his very own we could call to do something against exploitation and slavery. Edition of what has been done and when i was still working for a local paper i read on facebook that and was big man had been admitted to hospital in a very sick condition. We immediately went over to the man whod been working musician at the foot of the mountains here for two years. He fell seriously ill. When his owners realized after ten days that he was close to dying they loaded him onto a transporter like a sack of potatoes. Magazine they then just dumped him at a gas station on the outskirts of town he was the good of the fucking pants when he was later found and taken to hospital which. Was what is called on the show to do for you we contacted his relatives in israel moscow and samarkand but nobody wanted to come. They all said the same thing if we come will be enslaved to just like our relatives. Friends and the nationals. This mern showed up in hospital without papers and with broken ribs. How long have you been in dagestan and these two years i asked them to give me my money. But they refused to give me money already thing out here. I lost my passport. But now i dont have one anymore whats your. Next question is do you work in a brick yard yes. In which district point i dont know what it was hard but if. They kill me i prefer to be dead. Whats the point of living. Zakir will be able to help this man that same evening he collects donations on social media for the man whose journey home to russia. Her husband and father lives in constant danger of being threatened on account of his work. Or possible. When its really dangerous one time these guys came to warn me if i didnt stop freeing people they blow me and my family out and that in the. News i will and its been that way for five years but im still alive ones. Back at the court in moscow the verdict is due today in the case brought by kuhlmann beck the kirghiz man who became a victim of exploitation normally the case would have dragged on for a long time his lawyer go nora tells us. But when the employer heard that a western t. V. Crew wanted to film proceedings he quickly paid his debts he was willing to pay forty thousand roubles his lawyer has come to court to formally accept the ruling. We are not allowed to film the judge but are allowed to listen in as the verdict is announced. The fact that coleman beric won his case is the exception to the rule. But wont do exploitation and slavery mean for Mainstream Society is it really all business or our concern is the culture question it doesnt matter whether its an alcoholic or a form of prison and. You should treat people with respect. Those people also have rights deserving protection and their rights are the same fundamental rights as mine. For the coming if we as a society were to say those people dont deserve their rights these it would mean that the rights of every individual are at risk. In other words hes only when the rights of those at the very bottom of society is secured everyones rights protected. To his actions the should stop the exploitation and modern slavery a growing around the world according to u. N. Estimates twenty one Million People are victims of forced labor russia is by no means the exception. In good shape. We talked to the experts on site in some hospitals dangerous pathogens lurk. Theres a lot of fear in the hospital because of modern resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are often powerless to combat them what kind of threat do these bacteria really pose how can they be stopped. To cheat in thirty minutes. They live to serve a. Danger lurks in the water we were there all year long surfing waste and polluted water not only being the witness but the thousand victims i mean with you troubles all gastric troubles. Basically this is sort of the last moments in fact coupled with the nation i was on a shelf. Is we just need to go somewhere every day and see more of me and probably shoot times pursues gives me everything the waves the wind i have to give Something Back because i feel obliged to miss him to many of the others. Point waves surfers fighting against unseen pollution the sea started in january seventh on g. W. This is you know the news live from berlin firing back u. S. 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