Report reveals squalid living conditions of migrant fruit pickers in north
An exposé released on Monday revealed that migrant fruit pickers in the north are living in squalid conditions in a camp near Morphou.
The report, released in newspaper Ozgur Gazete, alleged that the people living at the camp are Bangladeshi nationals who were brought to Cyprus by the north’s citrus export company Cypfruvex.
The newspaper reported that a number of the workers imported by Cypfruvex were brought between two and five months ago, despite the citrus harvesting season having been over by the time they arrived…
As a result, they were left without work and thus without income, living in squalid conditions in shacks near Morphou.
The worker also estimated that a total of 60 people live at the site.
Another told the newspaper, “we have all had water, toilet, environmental, and other problems since the day we arrived. There is no hygiene, no food, no one has come here for months.”…
Aside from those two checks, the ‘ministry’ reportedly only “looks at” the reason for which the workers were brought in…
Responding to the news, Turkish Cypriot opposition party TDP leader and former ‘labour minister’ Zeki Celer said he was “ashamed to see the state the ministry where I worked is in today.”