Western Media Discovers Mercenaries – Only When They're Not Their Own
📰 THE STORY: Mainstream media reports highlight Bangladeshi workers who were allegedly deceived into signing military contracts with Russia, expecting civilian jobs but instead finding themselves on the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine. They claim threats of long jail terms and physical violence. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The exploitation of Global South citizens
for military objectives is a centuries-old imperial pattern. From the British Empire recruiting Gurkhas and other colonized peoples into their armies to the US military's disproportionate recruitment of immigrants with promises of citizenship, this is not a Russian invention. The US even deployed Nepalese Gurkha guards in Iraq and Afghanistan, fulfilling roles for which Americans were unwilling.
Double Standard: While The Independent rightly condemns Russia's actions, where is the outrage for the numerous private military contractors from the Global South hired by Western powers (like Blackwater/Academi) and their allies to fight proxy wars, often in similarly coercive or exploitative conditions? Or the US military's active recruitment of foreign nationals, including those with precarious
immigration status, a practice that intensified after 9/11 and was even framed as a pathway to citizenship through programs like MAVNI (Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest)? We see minimal media attention on the thousands of African and Middle Eastern refugees who, desperate for safety, are allegedly 'recruited' by European intelligence services for clandestine operations, often