Migrant Workers in Israel come mainly from Thailand, the Philippines, China, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The countries of origin of migrant workers in Israel are mostly developing nations that are characterized by poverty, especially in rural areas, and a lack of work opportunities. As a result of this poverty, citizens of those countries are willing to separate themselves from their families for years and live in harsh conditions in Israel. Some migrant workers are willing to take huge loans ($10,000 and even more) to ensure that recruitment companies send them to work in Israel. The obligation to return this loan is one of the reasons that in the first one to two years of working in Israel, migrant workers rarely report about violations of their rights, fearing that they will lose their job and face deportation from Israel while still in debt.

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