Modern Slavery: A prison without walls

MOE TURAGA

Moe Turaga is an advocate for ending slavery globally, a disability sector worker and an Independent candidate for the Central Queensland seat of Hinkler in the 2019 federal election.

I come from a settlement in Fiji near the capital, Suva. As you know, many people in Fiji are struggling to survive as Fiji is still a developing country. My dad was one of the only members of our family who had a stable job as a dock worker. This meant that in addition to supporting my mum and siblings he also supported 10-15 other family members on his $80-$90 per week salary. This is typical in Fiji. Unfortunately, my dad died when I was 13 years old and our family was left without a steady income.

As in many parts of the world, there is a lot of pressure on the eldest boy in the family to help their families survive by working. I loved school education and had good marks throughout. But, by the time I was 15, I had to drop out of school and look for work to earn money to help my mother with my two younger siblings. So, I worked in a shop as a retail assistant for $25 per week which I gave to my mother to help feed our family.

When I turned 17, I was approached by a cousin to go to Australia where he said I could study and earn money – much more than $25 per week – which he would send back to my mother on a regular basis for them to live on. I was excited about the possibility of going back to school. Now, this cousin was a church minister and a respected and trusted man in our society and family. He was not someone to be questioned – he was someone that you would trust to do the right thing. So, I agreed to go to Australia.

All of my travel was arranged by him and he brought me with him to Australia in April 1988. He had not allowed me to bring many clothes and I was unprepared for the cold weather in my shorts and sandals. When I arrived, he took my passport and gave it to a migration agent who he said would assist in our permits and legal issues. He also told me there was a debt that I had to pay off first for travel and visa costs and he sent me to work as a machinist in western Sydney. For a few months, I made over $400 per week there but I had to give it all to my cousin to pay back the debt – an amount that I never knew. He assured me he was sending money to my mother.

After seven months, he took me to a farm in Victoria where we worked on grape farms on two properties owned by the same family. I lived in a two-bedroom pickers hut provided on that farm with six other cousins. I didn’t know how much money my cousin was getting for my labour. There was never any contract or accounting for my work. I jumped on the truck at 6am and pruned and picked grapes until 6pm or dusk, seven days per week. These grapes went to supermarkets and farmers’ markets in Melbourne and Sydney. When there were no grapes to pick or prune, I picked watermelons and lettuce at their other farms, some of which went to fast food restaurants.

I did this while still living in the pickers hut at the grape farm. Through my cousin, the farmer gave our group $100 per week with which we had to buy our food and basic items for living. Sometimes we would catch fish down in the river nearby and I’m sorry to admit sometimes we stole farm animals for food. We relied on carp and yabbies to sustain or supplement our diet at times. For us Fijians, it was really, really cold. Our only source of heat was the oven which we would sometimes turn on for warmth. It’s a sacrifice we made with the understanding that some monies were being given to our family back in Fiji.

After about two years, I was finally able to contact my mother and found out that my cousin had never sent money to her. She had not received anything since I had worked as a machinist. I couldn’t believe this and I was emotionally devastated. I felt cheated and deceived by this man who I and our community trusted. But I also felt trapped because of his position of power in our society and that I would be shamed by my community if I complained or came home empty-handed. I would be seen as the wrong-doer or the rebellious person who didn’t make good of the opportunity that was provided to me. He would be believed while I would be considered ungrateful. He could poison the community against me. The power and fear of this shame kept me in a prison without walls, afraid to ask for help. Also, my passport was still with the migration agent in Sydney. So, I kept on working for a while in hope that I could find a way out of this situation.

I was to finally replace a pair of pants that I had almost worn through. I was proud to send the money I made to my mother and hear her voice on the phone. Audrey helped me to get my passport back from the migration agent. I was like a lost and abused kid and she became a mother figure to me. I ate at the table with her and her family and was treated as an equal. Audrey rescued me and restored my faith in humanity. Her family changed my whole perspective about life in Australia. I was able to socialise without fear.

I made friends and became a part of the life of the town. Eventually, I met someone who became my wife and I have stayed permanently in Australia with four beautiful children. I would like to take this moment to acknowledge Audrey and her family for giving me the opportunity to believe in people again. I had my eldest child born whilst I was on Audrey’s farm, and she treated my oldest son as her grandson even though she has her own biological grandkids.

I don’t know how many people my cousin trafficked to Australia. I estimate that he would have made up to $200,000 from exploiting me for those years. I am marked by slavery forever. The scars on my back from when I fell off the truck into barbed wire and received no care are a regular reminder of this terrible time in my life.

During some parts of the year I was able to walk into town and go to church on Sunday. I met other farmers there and decided to talk to them about what was happening. One farmer, Audrey, became very concerned and she offered to employ me on her farm. I decided that I had nothing left to lose anymore and took up the opportunity given by her and her husband. We had to leave the grape farm at night for our safety. She taught me skills like how to drive a forklift, drive a car and operate other farm machines. It was exhilarating to get paid a real wage into my own hand and to finally have money to get new clothes. It makes me sad now, but I remember how happy

When I was first made aware by Alison Rahill and Jenny Stanger (from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney Anti- Slavery Taskforce) that people are still living in these situations in 2017, my heart wept quietly, and I came home thinking about what happened to me as a young man here in Australia. I have always protected my kids and family from that part of me and that story. After I had the chance to meet Rosie Ayliffe and hear the story of her daughter’s fate something changed. I knew then what it must have been like for my mum all those years back, not knowing if I was dead or alive. That pain and loss as a parent resonated with me. It was God’s timing for me to stand up and tell my story in hope that it will provide some assistance to the modern slavery conversation. Even though I knew that part of my Fijian family would hate me for opening up the past, I thought it would comfort and encourage those still living in these conditions to speak out and seek assistance. An emotional burden has been lifted off my shoulders and I am blessed and comforted by the many people I have met. This has encouraged me to advocate for improved rights for those who are trying to better their families by labouring in our country.

Most consumers out there still don’t realise that modern slavery practices are alive and well in Australia and especially in the horticultural industry. They don’t know that the watermelon or tomato in their kitchen could have been picked and packed by someone that is being seriously abused. Farmers may not be aware that the labour hire contractor he or she is using is fraudulent or corrupt. I believe that there are still a lot of good people out there who are doing the right things. But there is also a lot of abuse. It doesn’t have to be that way; we don’t have to accept it. We need government, big retailers and everyone down their supply chains to come together with unions and the community to especially protect foreign workers.

My advocacy started in August 2017 when Andrew Forrest from the Walk Free Foundation invited me to share my story for the first time in public at the Bali Process Business and Government Forum in Perth. There were hundreds of business and government leaders there from 45 countries including Pacific nations and I was featured in national media. In 2018, I was engaged in organising Pacific Islanders and other communities in four agricultural exploitation hotspots in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to identify and respond to slavery via the Freedom Links project with The Salvation Army. I also gave evidence at the Commonwealth Inquiry into Establishing a Modern Slavery Act for Australia and my story is part of the official Hidden in Plain Sight report. Faith communities can play an important role in reaching vulnerable people, especially in Pacific Island communities, and these communities deserve support. I was able to work again with the Walk Free Foundation to link with the Pacific Conference of Churches to form the Pacific Freedom Network.

In 2019, I plan to keep adding my voice wherever I can and hope that with the passage of the Modern Slavery Act there will start to be some real improvements. I recently spoke at an event with the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev Anthony Fisher, and Jennifer Westacott, head of the Business Council of Australia. If this leadership is followed by action, then it will make a difference.

As a member of a rural community today I see many vulnerable temporary workers coming to Australia from all over the world seeking an opportunity. Farming is still hard work and there are still people like my cousin exploiting others for their own profit. People in this situation don’t know that there are people working hard to close down opportunities for this sort of exploitation. I urge you, as strongly as I can, to continue to take action against modern slavery.

Editor’s note: Rosie’s daughter Mia was killed in 2016 while in North Queensland doing agricultural work as part of a temporary visa arrangement.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER | VOLUME 28: ISSUE 1 – MAY 2019