Last week, 15 tourism and gastronomy students of Mexican nationality were detained by customs authorities in Israel after reporting irregularities in the student exchange program through which they had traveled to Israel.
According to a diplomatic briefing, the Mexican citizens were exchange students in the Ben Gurion University of The Negev and did an internship at hotels in the city of Eilat in southern Israel for a period of between six months and one year.
However, the Israeli company RonanShay , Consulting and Training, RSC Ltd, which acts as an intermediary between universities and hotels, was the cause of the problem. The students detected irregularities and abuses that complicated their stay in Israel.
The students complained that they were being made to work for more than 9 hours a day without rest as part of their “internship” in two hotels. The university immediately notified authorities and the students were kept to review their situation and legal status.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE)
tweeted on Thursday that the Israeli embassy to Mexico was working in direct contact with the students affected, providing legal advice and access to healthcare units.
Israeli authorities initially determined that the Mexican students had not incurred in any customs violations.
However, the students are now considered victims of labor exploitation, which is why they will remain in Israel to serve as witnesses for an ongoing investigation.
The Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACh) , where three of all 15 young students attended, informed that the students involved in the investigation were likely to return next weekend, whereas another five students that were part of the same exchange program and were in France at the time of the arrests, will fly from Paris to Mexico sometime soon.
The Israeli government now conducts an investigation of agencies and companies involved in the program. The witnesses Paola Hernández, Dennis Arjona, and Vianney García denounced excessive workloads that even prevented them from attending school. The hotel managers are now being investigated for labor exploitation.
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