Workers at Serbia factory cry for help

Zrenjanin (Serbia): They are shivering in barracks without heat, going hungry and have no money. They say their passports have been taken by their Chinese employer and that they are now stuck in a grim plainland in Serbia with no help from local authorities.

These are the Vietnamese workers who are helping build the first Chinese car tire factory in Europe. The Associated Press visited the construction site in northern Serbia where some 500 of the workers are living in harsh conditions as China’s Shandong Linglong Tire Co. sets up the huge facility.

The project, which Serbian and Chinese officials tout as a display of the strategic partnership between the two countries, has already faced scrutiny from environmentalists over potentially dangerous pollution from tire production.

Now, it has caught the attention of human rights groups in Serbia, which have warned that the workers could be victims of human trafficking or even slavery.

We are witnessing a breach of human rights because the Vietnamese (workers) are working in terrible conditions, said Serbian activists.