E/CN.4/1997/71/Add.2 page 7 India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka who are responsible for labour-related matters and regularly visit Dasma to see their compatriots who are imprisoned there. 28. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank all those whom he met for their valuable assistance in providing him with information. What follows is a synthesis of that information which he hopes will make it possible to grasp the complexity of the situation of domestic workers in Kuwait. 29. There are 130,000 Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, including 7,000-10,000 domestic workers who are “appreciated for their diffidence” and because, like the Kuwaitis, they are Muslims. A further 6,000 Bangladeshis were recruited by the Kuwaiti army after Bangladesh played an active role in the liberation of Kuwait. These soldiers are responsible for demining operations, surveillance of strategic points and military logistics. The problems encountered by Bangladeshi workers concern non-payment of wages, residence permits and visas. Lawsuits can take time, and the plaintiffs give up and thus lose their cases. Generally speaking, such cases involve unskilled workers in the cleaning sector (streets, schools and hospitals). There are 400 cleaning firms in Kuwait. Salaries range from KD 25 to KD 30 per month; workers are housed in barracks in the Hassabia and Abbasia neighbourhoods, crowded together and with bunk beds. Only two of these enterprises offer acceptable wages and housing, whereas several companies in the industrial sector make an effort to provide good housing and high wages and observe the provisions of Kuwaiti labour law. Their employees are provided with public transport but not food and, generally speaking, their living conditions are harsh and inhumane, leading one migrant worker to say “It's exploitation; the living conditions are unbearable, like in a prison. I have found no justice with my Muslim brothers”. The Kuwaiti authorities lend an ear to complaints but try to avoid repatriating workers who have become illegal and endeavour to place them with another company, particularly if the previous employer has gone bankrupt. Setting aside the question of the poor living conditions at the Damas Centre, some consider that it functions as a little court where disputes are resolved by mutual consent. 30. Bangladesh had passed an act prohibiting Bangladeshis under the age of 25 from travelling abroad in order to take jobs as domestic workers; that act was repealed four months ago. 31. Several regrettable cases of the sexual abuse of domestic workers are before the courts, but proceedings are protracted. The information provided by the Ministry of Justice shows that, in fact, cases are carried over from year to year. Because of this slowness of the judicial machinery, those interviewed by the Special Rapporteur preferred the Dasma Centre, which, in their opinion, functions as a miniature court where disputes concerning matters such as back payment of wages or purchase of tickets home are resolved by mutual consent. An employee who quits his job or falls ill must request his official documents from his sponsor and the employee himself, or his embassy, often has to pay his ticket home. The fingerprints of persons who leave or are expelled are taken, and they are prohibited from returning for a period of two or five years, respectively. In order to avoid problems, Bangladesh has requested the recruitment agencies to form a national association and to designate a representative who would contact the countries