Reporter you have been listening to the malaysia Prime Minister and at 9 58 east cows time announcing the word the families did not want to hear which is they followed the course of mh flight 370, the malaysia airliner that disappeared almost three weeks ago saying they now believe that it disappeared in the south indian ocean west of australia and that it is now considered to be gone forever. And randall is following the story throughout the developments from washington d. C. , randall even though this is an indication for the relatives that all hope of finding the plane with any passengers all be it remote up to this point is now over, the search is not. No, the search very much continues. As a matter of fact, it has become more robust as china has arrived with a military aircraft and doing some citings today that may have some potential for locating the exact spot where the plane went down. The Prime Minister indicating it went down in the middle of the southern indian ocean, of course that is a vast stretch of watch. So far they have not yet been able to locate and confirm a debris field. We can only speculate because he didnt explain it that they have done some interpretation of radar data along with satellite images to determine that the plane crashed in the indian ocean, but the search now is for the debris field and of course for the flight data recorder, the black box. Reporter and randall we have chinese satellite images we saw earlier and also have the satellite images now that i guess its the french that are saying they saw, a container ship that says it might have spotted some debris and also an aircraft in the area, most in the general vicinity saying they have found debris. Its a little bit i dont want to say confusing but the french satellite image, what it shows along with a photo and we have radar imaging and photographic imaging by the french, debris field that the french located is some 800 miles from the area where the australians and the chinese have been searching. So they are going to look at both of the areas but probably the most encouraging bit of news today came from the australians who spotted debris in the same place where a satellite had previously seen it and a ship nearby, australian war ship who will be hopefully able to retrieve the debris and see if it matches if it indeed connected to image 370 and it may tell you where the plane may have actually gone down. Reporter randall, thank you very much and lets go to bob and he is the former vice chairman of the International Safety board and joins us by phone from washington as well. Mr. Francis, based on what you just heard what had to happen in order for the malaysia Prime Minister to say that . I did not hear him speaking. Reporter he basically concluded that the search for the missing plane itself, they now conclude that it has gone down in the south indian ocean and said he notified the families that the airliner itself, he now believes went down in that area and that the missing plane is now lost. Well, i think that is a perfectly legitimate and fair thing to say to the families and to everyone. I mean, all of these reports coming of debris being down in the southern indian ocean are have not come or amounted to anything. And i dont know if they have seen something down there that they identify as positively being from an aircraft. Id be surprised. Reporter that is what i was sort of alluding to, do you think he is privy to some information we are not and they might have located some debris field and then he concludes that the plane itself went down in the indian ocean. I think that is unlikely but its not impossible obviously. This debris, the kind of debris that you get from an aircraft does not stay on the surface very long. I would just i hate to guess when im doing these things but i would think that the best interpretation is that they found some kind of information from satellites that have led them to believe that the aircraft was going in that direction or it got that far or whatever it is and went down. But that is me guessing based on what i know now. Lets deal with the actual facts of the things that have to be dealt with in terms of the survivors. One of the things and you hate to say it is the survivors need to be told they can, i guess, move on emotionally and legally as well in order to have loved ones declared dead and the accident has to be somewhat, there has to be a stamp, there has to be a conclusion, a period at the end of a sentence. That is absolutely. That is true. Reporter so randall pintston, we are looking at the footage of families torn apart by this process waiting for answers, what does this do for them . Well, you know, dale, a few days ago i saw a report coming out of there after two weeks and families had given up and stopped going to sessions and returned home to await for whatever news there was to come. Obviously the hope for the plane having landed somewhere that somehow these passengers survived, as soon as the search area began to be focused in the southern indian ocean logic suggested that the possibility of survival was diminishing by the day. To another point about exactly where the wreckage is, we heard a sound bite earlier from an australian pilot and i dont know if we have it available and asked whether, in fact, it was possible for them to say the debris field they saw, the objects they captured from their plane today, matched mh 370. Reporter and, randall, its important and deep sadness and regret that i must inform you that according to this new data flight mh 370 ended in the southern indian ocean. Reporter and randall i apologize for cuttingly you off, that was the sounds from the Prime Minister of malaysia a short time ago and that is the first time you have hard exactly what he had to say. Now what do you glean from the words of the malaysia Prime Minister . I glean that whatever their evidence is, they are convinced that it went down in the southern indian ocean and thats pretty final in terms of the families or anyone else. And i think its not at all surprising. I think that the fact that there has not been surface debris found is not surprising. If something does turn up, a cushion or whatever it might be, that would be a little surprising. So i think that in fairness to the relatives of these folks, this is given what they know pretty convincing that there is no longer any hope for their family members. Reporter and, bob, i want you to answer this question and randall i want you to answer it after bob and explain to our audience why it is so important and why we have seen so many countries devote so much in the way of resources and effort to find this plane, why does the search continue in the case of that air France Flight years after it went down, why is the International Aviation community so concerned about what may have happened on board this plane . Well, i think part of it is wanting to know obviously what one of these one in a million events takes place, why it happened and to do as much as you can to be able to find the wreckage and figure out why this happened. This is a part of our community, the Aviation Community is obsessed, maybe slightly strong but you want to do all you can to find out particularly with air carrier airplanes how you minimize your risk for the future. So i think that is part of it and i think that always there has been and always is not correct but in the last 20 years there has been a huge focus on family members and trying to keep them involved and treat them and the most human and comprehensive way that you can. So i think thats what has been done and a lot of people have pitched in a lot of resources, that has been expensive and hopefully that will continue to be the case. If there is another instance like this. Reporter randall pintston, same question to you. I defer to mr. Francis in terms of the significance of this massive search for this plane. I would only add that two obvious questions was, one, would be whether there was a catastrophic failure on board that flight, of whether there was some incident that caused the loss of cabin pressure that would result in everyone losing consciousness and another incident involving a smaller plane some years ago, the oxygen system malfunctioned, the pilot and copilot became unconscious and the plane flew for hours before it crashed. Is it possible this happened in this instance notwithstanding the indications that some of the maneuvering of the plane was done deliberately then what . Were they trying to land it somewhere . Were they trying to crash it . Did everyone lose consciousness and if it was deliberate who did it and why. Certainly two of the many questions that they will want to try to get answered, which they can possibly get some answers to if they find the flight data recorder. Reporter randall pintston stand by and we want to bring the audience up to date, about 14 minutes ago the Prime Minister took to the microphone and called a News Conference telling reporters what he told family members a short while before that. Take a listen. This evening i was briefed by representatives from the uk Accident Investigation Branch or aaib. And they informed me that the uk company that provided the satellite data which indicated tell southern corridors has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis, never before used in an investigation of this sort. They have been able to shed more light on 370s flight path. Based on the new analysis, the aaid have concluded that mh 370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the indian ocean west of perth. This is a remote location. Far from any possible landing sites. It is there for with deep sadness and regret i must inform you that according to this new data like mh 370 ended in the southern indian ocean. We will be holding a press Conference Tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families. Two principals which have guided this investigation. Malaysia airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them the past few weeks have been heartbreaking. I know this news must be hard to deal with. I urge the media to respect their privacy and allow them the space they need at this very difficult time. Reporter that was the News Conference by the malaysia Prime Minister at 9 58 eastern time saying that it is now presumed that flight mh 370, Malaysia Flight 370 went down in the south indian ocean and randall pintston a lot of people it is a fine point but a very important point for those who are who have loved ones on the flight and they moved from a searching for the possible miracle it may be beached somewhere or may actually be floating in the south indian ocean and believe based on the data they have looked at, that that plane went down. Yeah, its a sad day obviously for the families, for the friends, for the colleagues of everyone on board. But the search will continue as it must until they can locate the debris field and then locate the plane and the flight data recorder. We heard earlier today from the u. S. Navy that they have moved into place a device that is able to find the flight data recorder as long as the Battery Power lasts. Of course, we are on day 16 now since the plane first disappeared, the battery life is approximately 3035 days and so time is of the essence to find the debris feel and then to track back and find where the plane is in the ocean and then to locate the flight data recorder using remote devices and a lot of work to be done but obviously now a lot of sadness on the part of the relatives of those on board. Reporter randall in washington stands by and we are in beijing where the majority of those on board were, and chinese and how are the families reacting . Do we have margo on the phone . Okay, we have lost our connection with margo but we do have Andrew Thomas in perth where the search efforts are now focusing on the location off the west coast of australia. We have lost andrew as well. My apologies for both of those but you understand Satellite Technology of this being a latebreaking event happening a short while ago and we will get caught up on exactly and digest what this all means and we are going to realize it and take a look at what happened on march 8th which is when the flight went down and 239 people on board and where the search goes now and what happens if and when the wreckage of flight 370 is found. We will take a break and be right back. Im in new york and following the developing news concerning the missing Malaysia Airlines flight mh 370, a short while ago, approximately 20 minutes ago the Prime Minister held a News Conference and told what he told family members and they believe the missing flight went down in the south indian ocean and take a listen. Its therefore with deep sadness and regret i must inform you that according to this new da data the image of 370 ended in the southern indian ocean. Reporter so why was this News Conference held today . It was held for the families, prior to coming to the microphone to address reporters the Prime Minister indicating he talked to the families and the families are agonizing and a woman who shows up in china waiting for any piece of information that might come out and frustration with malaysia authorities and saying they have not been quick and you can hear the grief saying they believe the plane went down in the south indian ocean and this is what he had to say to the family members. Malaysia airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them the past few weeks have been heartbreaking. I know this news must be hard to deal with. Reporter and it has been extremely difficult for those families, also difficult for the men and women who have joined in this Multi National search effort, most of it right now taking place in australia where we find Andrew Thomas and live in perth and have not given up looking for this plane. Absolutely not, i was out on a plane for 11 hours today, monday, and we were the first the crew was the first crew to have seen objects in the water since these search planes began a week ago and a breakthrough on the plane and no one was able to identify what the objects were but they were able to send smoke markers down that lit when they hit the water and put a plume of smoke in the air and boats are currently on their way and should be there by now looking at the objects and trying to identify them but the Prime Minister made clear in his press conference a few minutes ago its not the search out of perth that it went down in the china sea, it was data from the satellite, the plane emitted in the last section of the flight. He concluded the company and the data analyst concluded the only explanation for the dots of the satellite if you like running out where they did was that the Malaysia Airlines plane had crashed in the southern indian ocean. It was not possible given the data for it to have reached land where it could have landed. Reporter andrew, i apologize to our audience in advance for the long satellite delay but that is a matter of technology but is it your sense where you are in perth that they are getting close to finding this debris field . Well, i must admit we got word about ten minutes before the malaysia Prime Minister today up that he was about to make a imprompatu press conference and we were the first to see objects floating on the water, too far to identify with the naked eye or camera or anything. But those objects may well have been found by now if they very on a boat and may have looked. As it turned out the objects i was on the plane today that people on board spotted were not the reason for the definitive statement from malaysia Prime Minister but yes it does feel as if the search is getting closer and not only do you have the planes that are now spotting objects but also satellites taking images that seem to show objects as well and a run of them now, first from an australian satellite last thursday and then from a chinese one a couple days ago and just yesterday on sunday from a french satellite as well, all of which seemingly to show objects in the sea. What had not happened until monday, the flight i was on is people with naked eyes catching glimpses of object as the search planes fly by and they are low and fast and its difficult to spot what are relatively small objects in the water. I musz admit i was looking out of the window the entire flight and i could not say i definitely say any one of the five objects that my crew confirmed they did see, they are incredibly difficult to see. As i say marker bouys subject down and looking for and probably will find the objects because they are in a relatively small area. It does appear there is more likelihood, i would not put it more strongly than that, more likely the objects seen today do relate to mh 370 as a definitive answer as to where the airliner went down in the zone where the aircrafts and boats are looking. Recapping for the audience they came out announcing they believe the missing plane, missing flight 370 went down in the south indian ocean and Andrew Thomas in perth r rsaustralia was there and how much time did you have on the search and how much time on the plane getting to the area where its believes to be where the debris might be . Well, its such a remote area. You get in a plane and fly 3 1 2 hours of a zone and flying from one side of australia to another and look for two hours then you get low on fuel and have to go back. We pressed our luck and stayed there longer than they would and a call came over the radio means you are low on fuel and start heading back which is what we did. We probably had two hours, 40 minutes actually searching. When i mean searching you are low on the water, going very fast and hard to spot objects. Reporter Andrew Thomas is live from perth, australia and day 16 for the search for the missing flight and the Prime Minister is telling the families and many are in beijing saying the plane is lost forever in the south indian ocean. Crafty Chemical Companies deceived us for generations and once you use the polish you add layers for a false shine. Its christmas eve, and us soldiers are preparing for their last months in afghanistan. About forty thousand are still here by the end of the year, therell be just eight thousand. We traveled to afghanistan in the midst of this transition. But on the base we found a story that isnt being told. The people doing the daytoday work here are mostly civilian contract workers men from india and nepal, who traveled to a war zone just for the promise of a good job. For many of them, that promise turned out to be a lie. They ended up deceived and indebted, victims of human traffickers who thrive on military contracts. Fault lines examines the lives of these workers and investigates how the American Military has come to rely on an indentured workforce. Camp marmal is the largest base in northern afghanistan. Natos mission here centers on training the Afghan National army. The complexity, when we first got here i started thinking about it. It almost becomes overwhelming. This is the us regional garrison commander, responsible for daily operations in the north. Theres a lot of great contractors that come up here. Local nationals, third Country Nationals, us expats. Theyre really good, they Work Together. What are the contractors doing . Everything, everything you can think of. They work in the dining facilities. They help maintain the living facilities. What it does is that it allows the soldiers to concentrate on their primary mission, rather than having extra duties. We could not do our mission without them. They do a good job for us. Two American Companies manage the militarys facilities in afghanistan the fluor corporation, and dyncorp international. These companies are called prime contractors, because the Us Government hired them directly. They all Work Together and do an outstanding job of serving us really, really good food. Fluor manages camp marmal, but most of the contract workers here work for Smaller Companies subcontractors which fluor hires to handle basic tasks cooking, cleaning, and laundry. And there is sort of the enjoyment of watching youre food made right here in front of you. The people serving food here work for these subcontractors. I think you just made their day. That was very sweet. Christmas dinner. On the face of it, its a little odd. American and european troops being served by indians and nepalis in afghanistan. The workers line up separately for indian food. When we requested to film here, the military had to ask permission from fluor. Fluor denied our request. But i did chat with the workers in hindi and tamil when we ran into them on the base. It wasnt long before i heard about a unique aspect of their employment. To get these jobs, they all had to pay fees to recruiting agents. I asked several people if they would speak to me on camera about how they were recruited to afghanistan. Most were hesitant, not wanting to jeopardize their jobs. But a few hours later, i got a message. One of the workers i met at the dining hall just contacted me. He wants to talk to us about his story. It isnt easy to talk openly on this base even though hes right here. So were trying to find a place to meet. The worker asked us to conceal his identity and alter his voice. Well call him ravi. He told us to meet him at an empty part of the base, after he finished his shift. Ravi told us he was tricked into working in afghanistan for a salary that was less than half of what he was promised. It started when a friend back home introduced ravi to a recruiting agent, who told him that for a hefty fee, he could get a job in afghanistan working for dyncorp. He would fly to dubai, where he would connect with dyncorp and then travel to the base. But there was a catch. The job at dyncorp didnt actually exist. Instead, the agent housed ravi in a work camp in dubai. After three weeks, the agent told him that for an additional fee, he could get ravi a job with a subcontractor ecolog. So you were promised a job dyncorp for 1200. And then you got a job at ecolog for 500 . Yes. How much money did you pay the agent . Ravi had been recruited under fraudulent terms that compelled him to work for a year simply to pay of his debt. According to the Us State Department and the united nations, this is Human Trafficking illegal under us and international law. What percentage of workers paid fees to agents in order to get here . Real reporting that brings you the world. Giving you a real global perspective like no other can. Real reporting from around the world. This is what we do. Al jazeera america. We wanted to talk to more people whod worked these jobs. But to do so, we had to go far outside the war, where they could speak more openly. We found them in the rural heartland of southern india, in the state of tamil nadu. The main issue when we talk about trafficking we can call it as bonded labor it all starts because they have to pay an amount to get that job. Sindhu kavinamannil used to work for a subcontractor in kuwait. Now she advocates on behalf of migrant laborers. Over the last eight years, she has interviewed hundreds of contract workers in iraq and afghanistan. Debt will make you work anywhere. It doesnt matter if its a war zone, doesnt matter if youre given a good food or good accommodation. These men are ready to sacrifice. Govindnagaram is a village of six thousand people, several hours from the closest airport. Locals estimate that eighty to ninety percent of men here have worked in iraq or afghanistan. If you have a regular job, you might get 5000 rupees thats 100 dollars for a month. But what the agents promise, you will get 800 dollars for a month. Even i will think of moving there to get a job. We visited a small tea shop, and word spread that we were looking to talk to people who had worked on bases. It turned out this man serving tea himself had been recruited for a job in afghanistan with supreme, a contractor that supplies food and fuel to nato. Whether they made it to afghanistan or not, everyone here had a story about how they had been cheated. This man, nagaraj, paid three thousand dollars to an agent for a job as a cook in afghanistan. But when he arrived at the base, he was told he would be working as a waiter for a much lower salary. At bagram, the largest us base in afghanistan, nagaraj worked for ecolog, the same company that ravi had told us about. Ecolog is one of the most prominent subcontractors in afghanistan, working on both fluor and dyncorp contracts. Its completely controlled on fear, the fear of losing the job and the fear of losing the job is because they are in debt back home. Losing your job is like youre coming back to shame and debt, and whats my future after that . Youre here, i own you and you work here or if you dont want to, you go back home. But what about the money you paid . You didnt pay me . You paid to the agent, i dont know about the money you paid. Do you have a paper to show . Being fired is especially daunting because most people borrowed money to pay their recruiter at Interest Rates of 25 to 40 percent. Ganesan subbaiah had to come up with two thousand five hundred dollars. At the time, he earned two dollars a day. Ganesan paid for a job in afghanistan with a subcontractor called prime projects international, or ppi. But ppi sent him to an american base in an entirely different country. Rajesh kumar worked at camp dwyer in afghanistan, making seven hundred eighty dollars per month. But in a years work there, he only earned about two thousands dollars. The rest seventy five percent of his wages went towards the loan to pay the agent. Rajesh was strung along by five successive agents, each of whom charged an additional fee. The department of defense requires contractors to ask workers whether they paid recruitment fees. But it isnt hard to see why few people are comfortable telling the truth. Did the contractors not know that their employees were trapped in debt . Or did they condone these abuses because they benefitted in some way . To figure that out, we had to retrace the path of these workers to the city nearly everyone had traveled through dubai. Dubai is critical. Youll see most of the contractors have their headquarters incorporated in dubai. Sam mccahon is a former Army Jag Officer who served in iraq and afghanistan. For the last several years, he has campaigned to reform the military contracting system. And when it comes to dubai, people wonder why would someone take them across the ocean if there wasnt a contract. It gets into Human Trafficking. The trafficker gets paid when they leave india at the airport the trafficker gets his commission. It doesnt matter if they have a job over there. Subcontractors like ppi and ecolog run their middle east operations out of dubai. They keep labor camps here to house workers en route to military bases. And their recruiting agents have camps here too. Away from the dazzling towers of dubai, a sprawling labor camp known as sonapur is home to hundreds of thousands of Migrant Workers from south asia. In hindi, sonapur means city of gold but in reality, its more of a shanty town. Its this pool of labor that american subcontractors dip into to find workers for us military bases in afghanistan. What would happen if someone tried to apply for a job directly with ecolog . The typical business model, ill call it, thats used by the gulf subcontractors is they will go to india, or nepal or philippines, or kenya, and they will link up with a recruiter. They work out first the above the board terms. And then there is the below the board agreement. Which is the kickback. We needed to speak to someone intimately familiar with the arrangements between subcontractors and their agents. In afghanistan, ravi had given us the name of the recruiter in dubai who connected him to ecolog. To get this agent to talk to us openly, my producer and i posed as employees of a subcontractor, looking to hire indian workers. We set up a meeting with the agent near his office, and filmed it using two hidden cameras. He told us his credentials. And if they have to stay in dubai, where will they stay . Where is it, in the main city . I asked the agent about his contract with ecolog, and he told me something incredible. Ecolog does not pay him any money directly. The money he makes comes entirely from the fees paid by job candidates. And, he explained, subcontractors take a cut from those fees. So it would be a nofee contract . This agent even offered to pay me money if we hired workers from his camp a hundred to two hundred dollars for each worker we could find a job for in afghanistan. Workers are not only paying a recruiter, they are unknowingly paying their employer the subcontractor for the privilege of having a job. The men are traded and sold just like chattel. They are things. They are commodities to be used. So the only one who is not making money is the worker who is providing the labor. Everyone else the recruiter, the subcontractor, the prime contractor. They are all making a lot of profit. But most of it is coming from this worker, who cannot afford it. And how much money are we talking about . Now according to the government records, it shows that those subcontractors are making anywhere between 70300 profits. Subcontractors make these kind of profits by billing prime contractors at rates far higher than their actual costs. Lets say im ppi, and i tell them ill give you laborers to pick up your trash and clean your toilets, and im only going to charge you 6 dollars an hour, that seems fair and reasonable. I get the award because i say 6 an hour. I know im only going to pay the worker 1. 65 an hour. So most of the difference between 1. 65 and 6 is my profit. About 90 of that amount is profit. Prime contractors like fluor could hire workers directly for less. But the way the system is set up, they actually have an incentive to use subcontractors that overcharge. Thats because the government has agreed to reimburse prime contractors for all of their costs, and then pay them a percentage of that total as a fixed profit. So the economic advantage is to incur as many costs as you can legitimately do so. The prime contractors make millions of dollars in additional profits, by subcontracting it out. So the Us Government is subsidizing Human Trafficking . No, were paying for it directly. This is the only form of Human Trafficking where the taxpayer directly pays the human trafficker. So fluor and dyncorp know that youre supplying to ecolog . When we reached out to fluor, the company said it holds subcontractors in afghanistan to a quote zero tolerance policy regarding trafficking in persons. ecolog told us its against Company Policy for any employee to pay a recruitment fee. And that all of its policies are fully aligned with Us Government requirements. The department of defense has not responded to repeated requests for comment. In the last few years, the pentagon, congress and the Obama Administration have all issued rules designed to stop trafficking on military contracts. But those rules have never been enforced. Even though this is against us law, there have been no criminal prosecutions, there have been no civil actions, there have not even been one contractor that was suspended from getting additional government contracts. Even though everyone, including the government, has been aware that they are engaged in Human Trafficking. Today there are nearly forty thousand third Country Nationals working on bases operated by Us Central Command in afghanistan, iraq, and elsewhere. But even as the United States winds down its wars, these workers remain critical to american facilities around the world. The problem doesnt go away because we are still going to have needs of support both for department of defense and department of state. Now theyre starting to use third Country Nationals for base support operations in djibouti and other parts of africa as well. Everyday, someone leaves their home, searching for a better life. Two hours in, you come up on a body. Now, in a breakthough television event, Al Jazeera America takes you beyond the debate. Experience first hand the tragic journey of these migrents. A lot of people dont have a clue, what goes on when you live near the border. Six strangers, with different points of view. I dont believe in borders. Our government is allowing a invasion get to experience illegal immigration, up close and personal. Its very overwhelming to see this many people that have perished. A lot of families taht dont know where their babies went i wanna make sure that her life, its remembered. What happens when lost lives are relived . The only way to find out is to see it yourselves. On borderland only on Al Jazeera America hey guys, wanna come to the United States . Join us on consider this. President jimmy carter joins antonio mora my administartion has a very strong human rights element. His perspective on the conflicts facing the world in the state of america. On Al Jazeera America welcome to Al Jazeera America, im del walters and these are stories we are following for you. The image 370 ended in the southern indian ocean. Reporter malaysia Prime Minister saying no one survived on missing Airlines Flight 370. And washington state, rescuers searching for signs of life in a mudslide that killed at least eight people. And president obama attends a