Xylofagou community leader George Ioulianos has made very serious allegations regarding the systematic exploitation of foreign workers, prompted by the incidents that unfolded on Wednesday night (08/07) in the centre of the community.
'Slave market' allegations
Mr Ioulianos spoke of a "slave market" of foreign workers, noting that such phenomena should seriously concern the authorities. As he stated, the background to the clash between rival groups of foreign nationals relates to financial disputes between them, which arise from the fact that chaos prevails in the employment regime for foreign workers.
He further alleged that behind this case appears to lie the systematic exploitation of foreign workers, who come to Cyprus as labourers for specific jobs but are illegally subleased to other employers. In this particular case, he said, it emerges that workers were subleased in the construction industry, but disputes arose over the agreements made, resulting in the regrettable events of Wednesday night in the centre of Xylofagou.
The community leader denounced a lack of strategy around the employment of foreign workers. "Every opportunist has workers registered in his name and subleases them to others. This phenomenon must concern the state, which is called upon to put an end to this slave market," he said, calling on the Police and the Labour Inspection Office to take up the matter immediately.
Unbelievable scenes of violence
The wild brawl caused great alarm among the residents of Xylofagou. According to the information, 15 to 20 individuals of Syrian origin were involved in the fight, using knives, crowbars, pieces of wood, levers and clubs. The relevant report reached the Police shortly before 10pm.
Strong police forces rushed to the scene, but upon their arrival they did not locate any of those involved. The only thing found was a car that sustained extensive damage during the clash. The vehicle was taken by the Police for examination.
According to testimonies obtained, individuals involved in the brawl attempted to use a car to run down members of the rival group. Their vehicle, however, crashed into a house storage shed, also knocking down signs, and narrowly avoided hitting the residence itself. Its occupants fled the scene on foot, leaving behind personal items, including two mobile phones and a small bag, which were collected.
The Police also collected various exhibits, including knives and other offensive weapons used in the fight. Famagusta CID investigators are seeking testimonies and evaluating footage from closed-circuit surveillance systems in the area in order to identify those who took part in the clash.
By Thursday afternoon (09/07), no arrests had been announced.
