Bangkok Post

But there was one problem _ Mr Kiet says a manpower recruiter in Udon Thani wanted him to pay a fee of 650,000 baht in cash, even though Thai recruiters are legally allowed to collect only 65,000 baht from recruited farm workers.

The recruiter escorted Mr Kiet to the Bank of Ayudhya to borrow half the money, and he obtained the rest from wealthy villagers at a much higher interest rate, using his family's home and rice farm as collateral. If he spoke English or wasn't married, he would not be accepted, the recruiter told him.

When it came time to leave Thailand, and the money had been paid, the recruiter told Mr Kiet he must not tell the Labour Ministry that he paid more than 65,000 baht or he would lose his visa, job and deposit.

Scared he would lose everything, he kept quiet and signed a document that said he paid the maximum legally allowed in fees and no more. He was optimistic that in a year, he could pay off the debt, and make two years' profit.

But in reality, that plan would remain a dream. After leaving Thailand bound for Arizona, Mr Kiet was redirected to Los Angeles where Global Horizons was headquartered and spent a month in an apartment with 10 other Thais waiting for jobs.

They only took a few hundred to a few thousand baht each to the US, and that didn't go very far in pricey LA when they needed to buy their own food. They mostly ate noodles. "We were very, very hungry, but afraid to go out because we could not speak language," said Mr Kiet. A neighbour concerned about their well-being began to cook for them, Mr Kiet says.

On their first night in LA, Mordechai "Motty" Orian, Global Horizons' boss, visited them. He told the workers who had only paid half of their recruitment fee upfront that they would be transferred to Hawaii to work if they paid the balance immediately. Mr Orian told them to call their families in Thailand to find the money to pay the recruiters.

Nervous about borrowing more money for the rest of the recruitment fee, but afraid to lose the opportunity for work, Mr Kiet paid the balance and was taken to Aloun Farms in Hawaii.

"No one wanted to speak up because we didn't want to be sent home," said Mr Kiet. "There was a lot of pressure. I felt suicidal, like I wanted to hang myself, because there was no way to repay my debt. I imagined killing myself."

In Hawaii a month later, all 11 men lived in a relatively isolated fenced property owned by Aloun Farms in the hot dusty country roads of Waianae. They were discouraged from leaving their residence other than to go to work. They slept on the floor on towels or mats. Mr Kiet missed his family and he was distraught over his financial situation.

There was no television, nothing to do and nowhere to go, since where they were living and working was so remote. Their half hour ride to work was in the back of a covered truck with no windows, no seats and no air conditioning. It was dark on the ride and Mr Kiet often didn't feel well on the way to and from work. They had no passports _ they had been confiscated so that none of the workers could run away. Even if they did, they knew their families would be financially responsible for their debts.

Everything went relatively smoothly at Aloun Farms for two months, but in the third month problems arose. The 11 men were told by a Global Horizons manager that their visas had expired and they were to be sent back to Thailand. They saw Mr Orian visit the farm, but he did not speak to them. The workers had not been paid in full for their third month and were concerned about returning home with so much debt. But the Global Horizons manager assured them they would return to the US "soon", when new visas could be obtained.

"Soon" turned out to be almost a year, and during that time the 11 workers looked for odd jobs and farm work to keep them employed so they could pay the interest on their loans. They tried to obtain refunds from the recruiting agency, but they were turned down.

In Mr Kiet's case, his debt rose from 650,000 baht to 1.3 million baht, because he had to borrow money from a local family to pay the interest on his other loans. He was afraid he was going to lose his family's land because the interest kept mounting up.

One year later, he returned to the US and Global Horizons, and worked on farms in Mississippi and Georgia.

While Mr Kiet was in the US, his wife left him for another man and took their children. He misses them very much. His father and mother died, and he was unable to return to Thailand while they were ill or for their funerals.

Mr Kiet eventually ran away from the Georgia farm because he heard he was to be sent back to Thailand again, and he had not paid off his debts.

Returning to Hawaii, Mr Kiet had no home and nowhere to live, but he had friends. He continues to work, but is doing so illegally. As soon as he pays off 500,000 baht, he wants to come home to see his children.

Mr Kiet's story is not unusual. More than a dozen Thais said they had to be married to be recruited to work overseas, but were now divorced. Those who remain in the US in many cases are illegal and they are afraid to speak to anyone, especially anyone in the US government who might deport them.

Three Thai workers interviewed from the group of 11 who worked together in Hawaii say they have been victimised and blame the recruitment agency and Global Horizons. They said that the worst part is the debt and the fact that Global Horizons did not keep to their contract or take care of the workers with regards to living conditions, food and payment, as they had been promised.

Broken families, being unable to return home to see family members, a deeper level of poverty and the possibility of losing their homes also make them extremely sad. _dh''Nobody cares about us,'' was the common sentiment among the three.

Clare Hanusz, an immigration lawyer who approached the Honolulu FBI about the Thai workers' plight two years ago, is now representing almost 100 Thai workers employed by Global Horizon and Aloun Farms.

Working with lawyer Melissa Vincenty, they are applying for T-1 visas so their clients can legally live and work in the US until the owners of both Aloun Farms and Global Horizons are prosecuted and any of the recruitment fees are recouped and returned.

''Their individual stories all contained elements that are 'red flags' in human trafficking cases _ fraud, misrepresentation, coercion, isolation, holding of passports and the threat of deportation if the guys spoke up or complained,'' said Ms Hanusz. ''We were very fortunate that the Honolulu FBI took these cases seriously and chose to devote resources into investigating the allegations of the victims.''

In a multi-count indictment filed in 2010 and expanded in 2011, Mr Orian, the CEO of Global Horizons, several employees of the company and two Thai recruiters, are charged with a ''scheme'' to import 600 Thai workers to the US from 2001 to 2007.

The charges include forced labour and document servitude conspiracies and threatening ''serious harm'' to workers. Additional charges related to fraud and money laundering are also expected, Mr Orian's lawyer disclosed in court last monthweek.

On Jan 14, a 10-count superseding indictment charged two other people in Los Angeles, Joseph Knoller and Bruce Schwartz, as co-conspirators.

An FBI report explains that the situation the Thai workers found themselves in was not unique. Recruiters allegedly met with rural farm workers, promising them good salaries, plenty of hours, decent housing and an employment contract that guaranteed work for up to three years. All the workers had to do was sign the contract ... and pay a ''recruitment fee'' of between 300,000 and 650,000 baht using family land as collateral. But once in the US, the FBI says that ''Thai workers discovered a harsh reality _ they worked for little or no pay, and they were held in place with threats and intimidation''.

The report says: ''While working on farms in places like Hawaii and in several other parts of the country, they sometimes lived under brutal circumstances. At one place, workers were crammed into a large shipping container, with no indoor plumbing or air conditioning. Guards were sometimes hired to make sure no one escaped the living quarters. And workers sometimes witnessed threats of violence or experienced it first-hand.

''They were made to feel as though they had no way out: Workers' passports had been confiscated upon their arrival and they were told if they escaped, they would be arrested and sent back to Thailand, with no way to repay their debts and possibly leaving their families destitute.''

Mr Orian said that he came to Hawaii about a decade ago at the invitation of Aloun Farms' owners Mike and Alec Sou. He eventually sent Thai workers bound for Arizona to Aloun Farms for three months until they ran into a problem with their visas and were arrested. The workers were sent home and some chose to return while others did not after the visa issue was resolved, Mr Orian said, adding that he was innocent of all charges brought against him.

Aloun Farms is the second-largest farm in Hawaii and its owners have also been indicted on separate charges of visa fraud, obstruction of justice and forced labour conspiracy related to the trafficking of a different group of Thai workers.

Federal prosecutors filed an indictment in 2009, and then a superseding indictment on Oct 27, 2010, against the Sou brothers accusing them of 12 criminal acts related to a forced labour scheme involving Thai workers at their Kapolei-based Asian vegetable farm on the island of Oahu.

After first pleading guilty to one count and agreeing to a settlement in 2010, the Sous changed their minds. With lawyers by their side in federal court, the Sous withdrew their plea, claiming they are not guilty on all counts. The case is scheduled to go to trial in July.The federal prosecuting team is the same on both cases and includes U.S. prosecutors Susan French, Kevonne Small of the DOJ Civil Rights, Honolulu-based US Attorney Susan Cushman and FBI Special Agent Gary Brown.

Orian's exclusive story about why he started Global Horizons, how he got into the manpower business and what he thinks about the charges against him, are detailed here.

The manpower company could not be reached for comment. Emails to another company involved with recruitment, KS Manpower Company, also did not return emails from Hawaii Reporter addressed to the President, general manager and information officer, asking them to address the workers' accusations.

---

Reprinted with kind permission of the Hawaii Reporter (www.hawaiireporter.com). Lawyers for workers interviewed asked that their clients' names be changed to protect them from retaliation in Thailand or deportation from the US.