New Delhi - A group of 20 Indians who ran away from a United States military camp in Iraq, where they worked in the kitchen, claim they were abused for nine months, it was reported on Tuesday.
The men from southern Kerala state paid 75 000 rupees (about R11 700) each for visas to Kuwait in August 2003. They were cheated by employment agents and landed in Baghdad.
One man, Hameed, said they were taken to a US military camp in Mosul where they were told that they had been bought to work in the kitchen, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
"We were slaves in the American kitchens. We barely got two hours of sleep. Any slip-ups and we were tortured for days," Hameed said.
While Hameed alleged they were often used as shields when their camp was attacked by Iraqi militia, his brother Shahjahan said they were forced to cook pork despite being Muslim.
The men said they were not allowed to call or write home, but were told 12 000 rupees (about R1 800) would be sent to India every month.
They got their chance to escape when their camp was attacked at the end of April. An Iraqi truck driver took them to Baghdad from where they travelled to Fallujah, Jordan, Doha, finally arriving in Mumbai on April 28.
* So-called liberal media
