Workers from Bangladesh have helped Mauritius to achieve the economic success and world market share that the Indian Ocean island state boasts about. But many live and work in conditions described as akin to "modern slavery", apart from facing discrimination, the denial of labour rights and even violence...In their dormitories at factories, the situation is worse as hygiene and sanitation are poor. Many of them sleep on pieces of sponge, pestered by fleas and other bugs...Feizal Ally Beegun, spokesperson of the Textile Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union [said] "The employers do not care for them; they live like animals..." Mukeshwar Gopal, chairperson of the Mauritius Export Association (MEXA), admitted to IPS that some industrialists are to blame for the poor living conditions. However, he insisted that the dormitories are in a good condition when the expatriates first arrive. "These are checked by the relevant health and fire services before the expatriates land there. We should understand that these people come from poor and dirty countries where hygiene does not exist. They put the dormitories in such a state that one cannot go inside because of the bad smell," he told IPS, without flinching. [refers to Firemount Textiles, Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile]