The promise of a lucrative job dangled in front of someone desperate to earn a living wage. That’s the scenario playing out across the world in impoverished communities, and India is no exception. According to The BBC, Indians are becoming targets for unscrupulous employment agencies to lure them into situations that lead to forced labor, abuse, and even death.

Dying to find a job

Thomas Gabriel Perera, was recently shot dead in Jordan while trying to cross into Israel. Prior to being lured to Jordan, Perera had been a rickshaw driver in India. He was killed by Jordanian security forces at the border with Israel this past February. Perera traveled to Jordan legally, lured by the promise of a lucrative job, along with Charlas, his brother-in-law. Charlas was also shot, but he was able to receive treatment returned home empty-handed but alive.

On arrival, Perera and Charlas were both told by the agent there were no jobs. Recruiters instead told the men they could find work in Israel, but they would have to enter illegally. The BBC article reports a letter from the Jordanian government and a statement from Charlas conflict in accounts:

The letter “states that ‘security forces tried to stop them but they did not listen to the warning, the guards opened fire on them, one bullet hit Mr Thomas [Perera] in his head and he passed away on the spot’. Mr Charlas, however, disputed this account and said there was ‘No such warning (from the guards). They just shot.’” 

The government of India says they have issued numerous warnings about the job scams. But for rickshaw drivers like Perera, whose wages sometimes don’t even cover the cost of living, the promise of a blue-collar job that pays many times more than his annual income is worth the risk. As is standard in these job scams, Perera and Charlas each paid around $3,000 USD to get to Jordan. An exorbitant sum and a fee that families often go into debt to pay.

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