Construction workers lament deplorable housing conditions

A strong and unpleasant smell—a mixture of stagnant rain water, sweat, and mildew—would greet you once you enter one of the staff housing of construction workers employed by Gold Mantis.

Forty workers are crammed in six rooms that only have at least 20 bunk beds, without proper ventilation. One room has an air-conditioning unit, while another has a small electric fan. The other 40 workers are in another staff housing.

They also need to line up everyday to take a bath or use the toilet before they go to work since there are only two bathrooms.

Heilong Jiang and Jiang Jinxu told Saipan Tribune that there are times that they experienced no water or electricity for two to three days in their housing that’s why they have to use basins and pails to stock up on water.

They also have to get used to sleeping in the dark at night since there’s no electricity. They only drink rainwater since no drinking water is also provided to them.

And since they entered the CNMI as tourists, they only have one luggage with a few clothes and other personal items with them. All of them are now overstaying visitors since the Chinese parole program only allows them to stay for 45 days.

Heilong and Jiang were part of the more than 20 workers under construction firm Gold Mantis that held a protest yesterday. They first converged at Moonlight in Middle Road before heading toward in front of ABC Store in Garapan, a few feet away from the construction site of Imperial Pacific Resort.

Traffic police officer Juan Mendiola allowed them to stage their protest as long as their group won’t block the store’s entrance and would not disrupt their operations. He then asked the group to move to the Garapan Basketball Court since foot traffic is slowly increasing.

Heilong and Jiang said it is only on Saipan that they have known each other since they all come from different provinces—Changchun, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Shandong, and Shenyang—in China.

They paid a “broker” in China 10,000 to 70,000 yuan or $1,450 to $10,000 as recruitment fee and they were again charged another $1,000 upon arriving on Saipan. They were told they could stay and work for one to two years on Saipan since all legal documents would be processed here.

They said that they are still in constant communication with their families in China, but they have not told them of what has happened to them so they won’t worry.