Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
International

'Worse Than Hell': Indian Migrants Recall Saudi Nightmare

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Oct, 2016 02:50 PM
    They left India for Saudi Arabia with big dreams, but have returned with only harrowing tales after an oil price slump threw the economy into turmoil, leaving thousands of poor migrant labourers stranded.
     
    The workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines were left destitute, without enough money to get home or even to buy food after losing their jobs.
     
    This week around 40 workers from the Bihar finally arrived home with stories of being "left to die" by their employer Saudi Oger, the once-mighty firm led by Lebanon's billionaire former prime minister Saad Hariri.
     
    The company, which at one time had some 50,000 workers on its payroll, was hit by a drop in income from its core construction business after Saudi Arabia delayed or cancelled projects in the face of plummeting oil revenues.
     
    "They closed down the mess (canteen) suddenly. For three days we did not have even water to drink. There was no power either," electrician Imam Hussain told AFP after landing in New Delhi this week.
     
    "I was even arrested because my identification documents were not renewed by my employer. The situation there was worse than hell," said the 27-year-old, who was working on the renovation of Saudi King Salman's palace in Riyadh.
     
     
    Hussain was among millions of poor Asians working in the Gulf states, where human rights groups say many suffer exploitation and abuses with no channels for redress.
     
    Under the kingdom's kafala system, most foreign workers are barred from moving to a new job without their boss's consent before their contracts end, leaving many trapped.
     
    It has been criticised by rights groups as a form of bonded labour or even slavery.
     
    Hussain and his fellow migrants had spent several days in Delhi as they waited to go home to Bihar, sleeping on mattresses on the floor of a budget hotel's garage and eating on a filthy, open terrace.
     
    But their huge relief at coming home meant they barely noticed the discomfort.
     
    "We are just so relieved to be back home finally. All we want is to see our family and start our lives afresh," said Santosh Singh, a low-wage construction labourer as he waited to board a train to his native village.
     
    'Dreams Shattered'
     
     
    Saudi Arabia is the favoured destination for Indian labourers, with nearly three million working mainly in the construction sector.
     
    A 2014 report by Amnesty said close to a thousand low-wage migrant labourers are provided clearance to travel to Saudi Arabia every day.
     
    Many from Bihar, which has the highest migration rates, according to a government report in 2007, leave in the absence of any local enterprise or industry.
     
    Migration offers an easy opportunity to the often semi-literate workforce to earn relatively good wages abroad.
     
    "In Siwan district where I live they used to make public announcements about overseas job vacancies with the beating of the drum," said Zakir Hussain, who went to Riyadh in 2013 and was making some Rs. 30,000 per month ($450) before the problems began.
     
    "I have 15 members in my family and it (going abroad) was my only chance at a better life.
     
    "But look what happened. I have not been paid since December. All my dreams are shattered. I just hope I will get back my dues some day," he said.
     
     
    In August, the Foreign Ministry stepped in to repatriate thousands of Indian migrant workers who did not even have money to buy their tickets.
     
    The Saudi government then took action, providing food and medicine to Indians staying in camps while promising to provide free passage to all those who wanted to go back to India.
     
    Saudi Arabia has also said it will handle legal claims of the Oger workers in an effort to get their money back.
     
    Sheikh Dilsher, who worked for Oger for 18 years, is still unable to come to terms with the sudden turn his life has taken.
     
    "I slogged all my life for them," he said, tears welling up his eyes. "But what did I get in return?
     
    "All my benefits which come to some 42,000 Saudi riyal (around $11,200) have been withheld.
     
    "I have no money and no hope now."

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indian-American Doctor Charged With $9.5 Million Fraud

    Indian-American Doctor Charged With $9.5 Million Fraud
    Shelinder Aggarwal simultaneously filed guilty plea to the charges. In the plea, he agreed to forfeit his former clinic on Turner Street Southwest in Huntsville, along with USD 6.7 million, the Justice Department said yesterday.

    Indian-American Doctor Charged With $9.5 Million Fraud

    Diplomat's Teen Son, Snared In Miami Double Murder, Deported Back To Canada

    Diplomat's Teen Son, Snared In Miami Double Murder, Deported Back To Canada
    American immigration agents escorted Marc Wabafiyebazu from Miami to Montreal earlier this month where he was reunited with his mother, Roxanne Dube.

    Diplomat's Teen Son, Snared In Miami Double Murder, Deported Back To Canada

    Canadian-iranian Professor Homa Hoodfar Freed From Prison In Iran: Trudeau

    Canadian-iranian Professor Homa Hoodfar Freed From Prison In Iran: Trudeau
    MONTREAL — A retired Canadian-Iranian professor has been released from a Tehran prison and will soon be reunited with her family, friends and colleagues, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

    Canadian-iranian Professor Homa Hoodfar Freed From Prison In Iran: Trudeau

    Canadian Forces Have Trouble Tracking Military Sexual Offence Convictions

    Canadian Forces Have Trouble Tracking Military Sexual Offence Convictions
    OTTAWA — While military commanders have pointed to an increase in criminal investigations as proof the fight against sexual misconduct is working, military justice officials admit they don't know how many service members are ever actually convicted.

    Canadian Forces Have Trouble Tracking Military Sexual Offence Convictions

    Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Bust Unveiled In St Tropez In France

    Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Bust Unveiled In St Tropez In France
    The unique military ceremony was attended by over 300 guests from various countries among numerous dignitaries and local French officials.

    Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Bust Unveiled In St Tropez In France

    Pakistan Returned Our Gesture Of Friendship With Terror: India At UN

    Pakistan Returned Our Gesture Of Friendship With Terror: India At UN
    India on Monday told the UN that its offer of unconditional friendship to Pakistan was met with a series of betrayals in the form of cross-border terror attacks.

    Pakistan Returned Our Gesture Of Friendship With Terror: India At UN