Posted on 01/31/2008 9:54:55 AM PST by Froufrou
About 100 people who came from Nepal to work at a north Alabama factory seemingly vanished from a pair of apartment buildings, along with a lot of furniture and appliances, and can't be located, officials said Tuesday.
Immigration agents are trying to determine what happened to the Nepalese workers, among hundreds brought to the United States to work at a DVD factory operated by Cinram Inc., said Lauren Bethune, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Homeland Security.
"We do not in any way consider it a security threat, but we do think it is important," she said.
A Huntsville television station, WAAY-TV, first reported on the missing workers.
Cinram's human resources director, Peter Hassler, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. But a spokesman for a company that recruited the workers for Cinram said a contact in Nepal believes many of them have returned home.
"Most of the people he was talking to said they came to America, did what they wanted to do and went back home," said Doug Wilson, president of Ambassador Personnel in Thomasville, Ga. "These are people with pretty strong family ties."
Mary and Tim Snopl told the TV station they rented apartments in two buildings last fall to about 240 workers from Nepal. But Mary Snopl said scores of the workers are now missing, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of furniture, televisions and kitchenware.
"I don't know if they're living in Huntsville or somewhere else, I just know they aren't living with us and they aren't working at Cinram," she said.
Wilson said his company was seeking a list of items believed to be missing.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I thought the Nepalese were nomadic. Wouldn’t that mean they’d be less likely to become homesick?
Yes, that occurred to me, too. Yard sale.
If so, it certainly serves Cinram right for taking a subsidy to come in and employ local workers, and then hire a bunch of foreign workers instead.
I hope they had a very big yard sale and sold ALL of Cinram’s stuff, and also left some big debts at the company store. I’m sure guys like this would have a company store, just like “Sixteen Tons.”
What makes this even more special is that according to the newspaper article with the type of visas these people have they get a SS# after two weeks of work. Great!
Mo' Brooks for President!
</sarcasm>
ping
Word is that the Nepalese attempted to immigrate to Mexico, but the Mexican Border Patrol turned them back....no passport..
‘Kidding!! :o)
Maybe they are in Alaska. They would be right at home in the -20.
Probably still down in Florida after voting for McCain as independents in the Republican primaries.
You’ve been eating Soylent Nepalease ...
Imported Nepalese just doing the jobs Americans will not do.
Maybe they went looking for yaks...
George Bush would suggest the people in Alabama are too lazy to work....
Done.
Doubtful. Too tough
Why are workers from Nepal working in a factory here in America in the first place?
Free labor ... if they are refugees
"The Employment Subsidy Program assists refugees who have experienced long-term difficulties with assimilation. The program increases rates of refugee employment and decreases rates of refugee welfare utilization by providing employment services to unemployed refugees and wage subsidies to employers who hire refugees. The program assists refugees who have experienced long-term difficulties, or who are likely to experience long-term difficulties, in assimilating into American communities with positive workforce experiences. These grants provide opportunities for subsidized and unsubsidized job placements that will lead to permanent employment and economic self-sufficiency.
Refugees eligible to participate in projects funded under this announcement must be at least 18 years of age and must not be enrolled in school on a full-time basis. Refugee participants must be unemployed, without earned income, employed part-time, or members of families receiving public assistance. Refugees are eligible to participate in this project if they have resided in the U.S. for a minimum of one year and have been residents of their communities for a minimum of three months. Refugees must demonstrate that they have exhausted other types and sources of employment services and that they are continuing to experience long-term unemployment to participate in a project.
Through written contractual agreements, grantees may use funds to reimburse employers for up to 100 percent of the employment wage (including fringe benefits), for a maximum of nine months. In exchange for the salary subsidy, the employer agrees to provide the refugee employee additional supervisory assistance in learning the job and to retain the refugee employee in this position after the wage subsidy has ended. If insufficient funds are available to continue the position, the employer agrees to assist the refugee employee in securing other employment."
I am greatly offended that the American soy-humans were not put at the front of the line for this job.
Me for instance. I'm actually made of people.
Oh my! That's a double slap in the face of all Alabaman's. Or triple, or quadruple, or... US tax paying citizens will have to make up those tax breaks with higher property taxes. They're not only taking locals' jobs at a lower wage, they're probably also taking affordable housing and crowding the local classrooms not to mention free lunches because of the low wages, etc., etc., etc. I bet that furniture came with the apartments so the manager is out that expense as well as unpaid rent and utilities.
Welcome to America, the home of the free-bie.
Mystery solved. Hillary is holding them hostage until they vote in November.
Well wind up getting the implants and they wont!”
You might, I won’t.
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