14ymedio, Havana | 2 January 2024 — On Tuesday, the organization Prisoners Defenders (PD) announced a letter signed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Contemporary Forms of Slavery, in which several governments are denounced for hiring, under “dubious conditions,” workers from Cuba. According to the text, signed by Tomoya Obokata on November 2, Spain, Italy, Qatar, in addition to the cruise company MSC Malta Seafarers, received a request from their office to clarify the situation. So far, none has responded.
According to PD, for months it has secretly helped the Rapporteur’s administration in the collection of information on the cases of exploitation of Cubans by the Government of Havana and the level of complicity of the countries mentioned in these contracts. The document was also sent to the authorities in Doha, Rome and Madrid, who were asked to respond within 60 days.
What is new is the accusation against the Spanish Government, which the Rapporteur indicates for hiring, at the local level – through companies, municipalities or autonomous communities – “athletes, artists, musicians, dancers and other Cuban professionals” in “precarious working conditions and exploitation.” The document also alleges that a part of their salaries is retained by companies on the Island that mediate the hiring.
For its part, PD says that many of the testimonies it managed to gather in Spain involved Cubans. It explains that they ended up applying for asylum, and Madrid had to grant it for “the conditions of slavery and evidence they presented.” One of these stories that was made public was that of the Basque handball player Lisandra Lima, who abandoned her delegation while competing in 2018 in Barcelona.
The Government of Spain has not taken measures to control the working conditions of the workers and the artistic, technical and sports personnel who arrive in the country
“However, the Government of Spain has not taken measures to control th