Russian Fishermen Trapped in Montevideo

Like modern slaves, 26 Russian fishermen and three Ukrainians remain trapped in the Uruguayan capital city port, after being cheated by their employers.

The workers, whom departed from Kaliningrad and arrived in Montevideo via Warsaw by the end of July, now want to return home.

They were employed by the owner of the ship, a Russian citizen called Tsurkan, to fish Krill in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. However, they never left the port of Montevideo and have remained on board without any payment since the beginning of the journey.

Far away from home and without money to return to their countries, the fishermen stated before the Uruguayan authorities that they are subject of all kinds of threats from their superiors not to speak to the press. However, the dramatic situation they are facing made them break their silence and contact the national press to ask for help.

"We want to return to Russia. We have no money. We are a thousand kilometers away from our homes and our families in a strange country. We have been cheated," one of the crew members said to the Uruguayan newspaper La Republica. The Navy Company had promised them a monthly salary of $250, which they never complied with.

The vessel, paradoxically called "Hope," is of Bolivian origin, a landlocked South American State. The situation has been reported to the Russian vice-counsil of the Embassy. Only the "Uruguayan Union of Sea Workers" is trying to assist the Russian sailors to get them back home.

Hernan Etchaleco PRAVDA.Ru Argentina