
The Slave Ship That Ran from Kerala to New Orleans - deskamess
https://in.news.yahoo.com/the-slave-ship-that-ran-from-kerala-to-new-orleans-085329807.html
======
jakewalker
I have had the great pleasure of helping represent a group of these workers
(not the folks who just recently went to trial, but another related case in
the Eastern District of Louisiana). One of the most gratifying experiences
I've had as an attorney. Really glad to see this story getting attention here.

If you are interested in the topic, I'd highly recommend taking a look at some
of the SPLC's work on the issues surrounding the H2B program generally:
[http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/close-
to-...](http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/close-to-slavery-
guestworker-programs-in-the-united-states)

~~~
gjkood
One of the greatest things I have come to appreciate in the US is that for all
its warts, it has great institutions to provide relief against injustice to
those who will otherwise be marginalized or helpless.

I have been a supporter of the ACLU and now that I am aware of the work that
the SPLC does, I am a supporter.

I love to see the 'corrective' nature of the general elections and also
understand that sometimes the outcome is not the desirable ones.

Whenever I see people thumping the Constitution or the Bible to support their
twisted heartless positions, I am also in awe of the Founding Fathers of this
country, who were able to craft a document, that actually protects the people
from their basest instincts and the institutions necessary for affording those
protections.

Thank you Mr. Walker for being a part of that corrective process.

~~~
enupten
Indeed, and thankfully, this unlike the Arab countries in Middle east, where
it's more-or-less routine.

I think it is made worse by the fact that no one gives a shit for the people
who don't speak English in India.

------
grej
The executives and "immigration attorney" in this case showed willful
disregard for the law and the individuals they were defrauding, and in my
opinion should be subject to criminal charges. Sadly, many of the times things
like this happen instead - [http://www.law360.com/articles/632144/signal-says-
bankruptcy...](http://www.law360.com/articles/632144/signal-says-bankruptcy-
likely-before-next-trafficking-trial).

TLDR, Signal is claiming they don't have the resources to pay, trying to
declare bankruptcy, and leave the wronged to walk away with nothing (from them
at least). But rest assured, the Signal executives would be fine, financially,
in that outcome.

Even if they are not charged criminally, piecing the corporate veil in the
case of willful and malicious activity is well established, and this is
exactly the type of case where that action should be taken.

------
sremani
This is disturbing but hardly surprising. US is dotted with slave labor camps
from meat-packing towns in mid-west to underground garment factories in Los
Angeles. This is where the perpetrators use the immigration law as a tool of
their exploitation and enforcement, even if the worker involved or should I
say, especially when the worker involved is legally here. On the other hand,
the complete absence of Indian Consular services or the myriad of Indian
cultural organizations in the story is appalling.

~~~
IndianAstronaut
> the complete absence of Indian Consular services or the myriad of Indian
> cultural organizations in the story is appalling.

Amazing considering how many Indians pour millions into temples and such in
the US.

~~~
mavelikara
Compare the silence here with the fuss made in the Devyani Khorbhade case.

~~~
shiven
_Crows always defend fellow crows._

If you have ever seen that in action, you'll totally understand. It's a fact
of nature. Same for cops etc.

------
bruceb
Not sure how this actually shows "America's broken visa system" as the author
claims. It shows a bad company. They broke the rules. They were punished and
now paying 5 men almost 3 million each. (though yes they may weasel out of it)

~~~
girvo
The fact they can weasel out of it shows that at least part of the system is
broken.

~~~
bruceb
That seems more a general failure of legal system not the visa system.

~~~
girvo
It is, yes, but if the checks-and-balances that the visa system relies on and
are implemented by the legal system can be sidestepped so easily, then abuses
are far more likely, wouldn't you agree?

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gjkood
For anyone interested, Kerala is a small state in the southern tip of India.
It has a huge historical importance to Western Civilization. You could almost
say (I may be exaggerating a little bit) that the America's were discovered by
the Europeans in its effort to find a cheaper route to the produce and wealth
of the Indies. Kerala is home to the Malabar Hills or what is commonly called
the Spice Coast of India.

Kerala is where most of the spices such as Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves
etc have been grown for centuries. The ports of Kerala, Calicut (Kozhikode)
has been the main gateway of trade all the way back to the Phoenicians.

BTW, as HN visitors, you may be interested in the fact that Kerala is now also
home to a vibrant Startup culture. Just in the last few months, Menlo Park and
Kochi (the city mentioned in the article) has announced that they are going to
be sister cities.

[http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/kochi-to-sign-
sist...](http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/kochi-to-sign-sister-city-
pact-with-menlo-park/article6870633.ece)

[http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-02-10/news...](http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-02-10/news/59005375_1_kerala-
government-student-start-ups-technology-business-incubator)

Now back to the article being discussed. Some of the factors that made this
case possible are the fact that the key players who were being exploited are
from Kerala. This may seem strange but let me explain.

Kerala, along with West Bengal, can be considered as two of the most
intellectually forward states of India. By that I mean, very high literacy
(almost 100%) and as a result of that a very keen awareness of when they are
exploited and have a fierce willingness to fight all forms of injustice.
Communism is a very bad word in America, but it has helped these two states
rise up from the feudal system that was prevalent in these states and is still
prevalent in most of the poorest states in India. The downsides of a Communist
approach (militant labor) is very evident in these States also, as being the
worst states to create a labor based business in. The day after you start a
business there, you can be guaranteed that labor will start an agitation and
bring the business to its knees.

The article also mentions the attempted suicide, which is also one of of the
disturbing aspects of life in Kerala. The state is very affluent compared to
other states, but there is huge social pressure (perceived or otherwise) that
forces people to take extreme measures to avoid failure. Whole family suicides
are not unheard of if something bad happens.

Thanks to the effort of the tragic few who were willing to stand up to the
exploiters and risk everything to bring this to court. Their efforts will have
an impact far beyond their own.

This is one of the reasons that I try and contribute to organizations like the
ACLU whenever I can. Henceforth I shall do the same for the SPLC.

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" (Who will guard the guards themselves).

~~~
somedudethere
> You could almost say (I may be exaggerating a little bit) that the America's
> were discovered by the Europeans in its effort to find a cheaper route to
> the produce and wealth of the Indies.

Isn't that what is normally taught in schools?

~~~
mturmon
This strange history is poetically recalled by Salman Rushdie in the first
pages of _The Moor 's Last Sigh_:

I repeat: the pepper, if you please; for if it had not been for peppercorns,
then what is ending now in East and West might never have begun. Pepper it was
that brought Vasco de Gama's tall ships across the ocean, from Lisbon's Tower
of Belém to the Malabar Coast: first to Calicut and later, for its lagoon
harbor, to Cochin.

English and French sailed in the wake of that first-arrived Portugee, so that
in the period called Discovery-of-India -- but how could we be discovered when
we were not covered before? -- we were 'not so much sub-continent as sub-
condiment', as my distinguished mother had it. 'From the beginning, what the
world wanted from bloody mother India was daylight-clear,' she'd say. 'They
came for the hot stuff, just like any man calling on a tart.'

------
carrotleads
Well I don't know the composition of the management panel of this business. It
is quite likely to be homogeneous and dictatorial.

This is the cost of a lack of diversity in a team and how stereotypes can come
to bite one in the foot. As illustrated by the emails expecting the workers to
be happy with their living conditions given they were assumed to be "pooping
in ditches".

I would wager with better diversity someone is most likely to have challenged
some of these views a lot earlier and helped the company from its blunders.

------
pdevr
The scary part is that if not for the support of the local church/parish and
the lawyers, this may well have been yet another case decided in favor of the
company.

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injiiinc
man thats horrible... never really hear much about Kerala in the news, its
obscure in comparison to the rest of India. Thats where my parents came from
so I was happy to see Kerala come up on HN, not happy at all after reading the
article. Damn

~~~
kolencherry
The last big piece of Kerala-related news that I remember coming up in America
media was about the Annie George case.

~~~
injiiinc
That Anthony Bourdain no reservations episode was pretty good, not really
news, but worth mentioning because I still haven't saved anything over it on
my dvr.

------
bayesianhorse
Stop all restrictions on immigration in the developed world! Not out of
kindness, or even basic human decency, but because these restrictions don't
work any more.

Look at the US: 18 billion dollars are spent each year for enforcing
immigration laws. The result? anywhere between 7 and 30 Million illegal
immigrants, which are essential to the country's economy, but unable to work,
seek the best medical attention or raise their socioeconomic status.

In Germany, we have a new kind of "dynamic". Our constitution grants a right
to asylum. Because of that right, every application has to be reviewed, even
though two thirds of them are rejected. The first problem is that the
bureaucracy is completely overwhelmed by the applications. Second problem is
that even the rejected Applicants can't be deported, for sheer impracticality
of scaling the "deportation" machinery by several magnitudes.

Of course, this state of affairs has drawn the attention of even more people
smugglers and potential immigrants, raising the burden on our immigration
enforcement. It didn't have to be Germany, who was stuck in that cycle first.
It could have been France. Italy and Greece aren't stuck because they
essentially tell the immigrants to go to Germany or risk being mistreated.

In Germany, these asylum seekers are not allowed to work ever. Which means
they have to be paid some form of social support. In my belief, paying social
support is cheaper than dealing with the consequences of about a million human
beings prohibited from earning a living in a legal way. But even cheaper would
be to allow them to work, like they actually want to do.

But alas, the majority of citizens in the developed countries have fear of
immigrants, so they will have to learn what I just described the hard way.

~~~
G00d1
>The result? anywhere between 7 and 30 Million illegal >immigrants, which are
essential to the country's economy, >but unable to work, seek the best medical
attention or raise >their socioeconomic status.

The reason is because the gov't doesn't enforce the law. If they did punish
employers for hiring illegal immigrants then there would be a lot less. The
employers skirt the law to increase the bottom line while pushing the cost off
on the taxpayer. Cut of the work then a lot less will come. Wages will rise
for the lowest earning Americans.

You think anyone in the world should be able to come to Germany? Get ready for
a couple million people in the first 6 months. People who don't speak German
and may not share your values.

~~~
bayesianhorse
This is exactly the flawed reasoning I am criticizing. Of course, if you "cut
off the labor", they wouldn't come. But experience has shown, that this is
impossible. Especially not since a large proportion of the US economy
absolutely depends on these workers. And a large part of the $18 billion
dollars every year is spent on trying to police immigrant laborers. And no,
wages will not rise, because wide-scale disruptions would lead to the worst
recession since the 1930s. But that's hard to speculate because, to reiterate,
"cutting off" the labor in any reasonable timescale is completely infeasible.

What I envision for the future is stopping immigration controls in the entire
developed world. Preferably happening all at once. The burden for Germany
would likely even decrease. Because just as it is, Germany has been selected
for the first breaking point, and the situation is such that pretty much
anybody can immigrate to Germany already and not be deported anyway...

------
davidw
Here's a random question for the Indians on HN:

> Andrews Isaac Padavettiyil

 _Most_ Indian names I see tend not to mix in bits and pieces that look
western. Is something like this just random chance, or are there some groups
or cultures where this is a done thing?

~~~
gjkood
As mavelikara, above replied, Kerala has a unique mixture of three religions,
Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. The Christians in Kerala are also of
different denominations, Catholics (Syrian), Catholics (Latin), Orthodox
Christians (Syrian), Orthodox Christians (Malankara), Protestants of all
denominations etc.

In general, if you are Christian, your name has three parts to it, <First
Name> <Middle Name> <Last Name> where the <First Name > is your given name,
<Middle Name> is your father's given name and <Last Name> 'may' be a family
name. The first and middle names are generally of Biblical origin and will be
recognizable by Westerners, the family name will be a local name in Malayalam,
which denotes many families of the same family tree so to speak.

The names of Malayalis (people of Kerala who speak the native tongue,
Malayalam) are a source of confusion for Westerners. I am often asked is that
you real name?

BTW, the Orthodox Christians of Kerala are 'believed' to be descendants of the
first families, converted by St. Thomas (one of the 12 apostles of Christ) who
is believed to have settled in Kerala (around 50 AD) in a place called
Cranganore, and later is believed to have died/martyred in the neighboring
state of Tamil Nadu. They are also called St. Thomas Christians. I leave it to
more knowledgeable people to argue about authenticity of these beliefs.

~~~
carrotleads
This..

My family belongs somewhere in this group. A few Australians have been
confused by my last name which is biblical. Occasionally I remind them that
India has more Christians than the Australian population and most of us have
biblical names mixed in.

As an aside, I suspect the case was also driven by the fact that Keralite
people are generally more aware of their rights given their high levels of
education, knowledge of worker rights and socilaist exposure( the world first
elected communist govt was here).

Most keralites migrate out to escape the socialist pressure that kills jobs
there. Quite ironical that they get out and put up with such cr@p for so long
but understandable given the obligations they get into.

------
G00d1
The problem is this visa should not exist for this type of work. Benefits of
ending this visa:

1\. Americans workers have jobs and see an increase in pay

2\. Less likely to be abused workers

3\. Less money given to bureaucracy

4\. Less money to lawyers

5\. No exploited foreigners

6\. Money earned by workers stays in US instead of leaving the US economy and
being sent overseas.

7\. Churches have more time to help local population.

This is work that has to be done in the US. This isn't the same as a visa for
a high tech worker creating a company.

There is no reason to have this visa for this type of work. It only helps rich
business owners at the expense of American workers.

~~~
gambiting
To play devil's advocate - so where would the workers come from to help after
disasters like Katrina? If I understand correctly - those people were hired to
keep rebuilding everything, since American workers were too busy taking care
of their own homes and families, so it was hard to find anyone to do the
actual job. If these workers were hired to do one specific job, got paid fair
wage for it, and got out, then I wouldn't have a single problem with this visa
type.

~~~
G00d1
Just pay market rates. This company did not want to do that. They want to pay
cheaper workers who then send that money out of the country. The company would
not make the reported 700k per worker though. Not as good for upper management
but better for America.

------
1971genocide
This is why I sometimes wished that rather than have the largest democracy in
the world <applause> India were ruled by something similar to the Chinese
technocrats who challenged the america-euro global world order. So much of the
brightest Indians is the reason why america is a tech giant. India could have
similar wealth like the Chinese if it wasn't for this brain-drain. And to make
it even worse the american system didn't distribute that generated wealth
fairly among its citizen but made a powerful class even more powerful and made
average americans and indians poorer.

~~~
srean
It is not enough just to produce talent, it is also necessary to have
structure in place to utilize/absorb the talent. India was far from that
position before, it is somewhat better but still far from ideal.

To turn the point on its head, if you have the infrastructure and environment
for talent to be used and valued, they would come, and they did, to USA.
However given the strong anti immigrant rhetoric that is becoming popular in
USA I am interested to see how this is going to play out.

~~~
1971genocide
China also didn't have the infrastructure. In fact India has a lot more
infrastructure than china did due to 200 years of British Rule. The difference
is China forced their brightest citizen to stay and build whatever
infrastructure was needed and also didn't so easily give in to pressure to
open up to trade that didn't benefit them in the guise of "globalization".

~~~
G00d1
Not everyone in China is Han Chinese but it is not as diverse as India. Should
the Indian Gov't suppress all the different religions in India? Crush ethnic
tensions with brute force?

