United Nations Radio

The International Organization for Migration has expressed concern over the fate of nearly 1,000 Moroccan migrants living in the town of San Nicola Varco, which is some 100 kilometers south of the city of Naples. IOM says the migrants have taken over abandoned structures, eking out a living amid piles of rubbish, without running water or electricity. Patrick Maigua sent us this report from Geneva.

The International Organization for Migration says the migrants; all young men are from Morocco and are employed without work contracts as seasonal workers in the agricultural sector. IOM officials who recently visited the migrants say they are being exploited by unscrupulous employers who pay them between 15 and 25 euros a day to work in the nearby greenhouses and fields. IOM says their living and working conditions are unsafe, unhealthy and undignified. IOM's spokesman Jean Philippe Chauzy explains how the migrants came to Italy in the first place.

"The migrants were all lured under the false promises of contracts regular seasonal labour contracts that they would be given in Italy.  So, they actually left Morocco mostly it seems with tourist visas. The idea was once they would get to Italy with a proper work contract, they would be able to regularize their stay. The issue here is that false promises were made it seems in Morocco by intermediaries, rogue intermediaries and when they got to Italy the employers did no materialize or they refused to give them contracts, so those migrants found themselves in a very difficult situation and eventually most of them became irregular migrants in other words very vulnerable to all forms exploitation and that is what we are seeing in this particular incident in southern Italy."

Mr Chauzy says the Italian government has asked IOM to carry out an assessment in the area in order to identify solutions for the migrants. IOM says illegal labour, especially in the agricultural sector is a widespread phenomenon in Italy.

Patrick Maigua, UN Radio, Geneva.
(duration: 1'33")