 |
Indian
workers from Bihar state gather in a New Delhi hotel after the Indian
government repatriated them from Saudi Arabia ©Money Sharma (AFP)
|
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.
AFP report continues:
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
impoverished east Indian state of 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 criticized 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.
Bihar, which has some of the worst
rates for poverty, malnutrition and life expectancy in the country, has the
highest migration rates, according to a government report in 2007.
Many leave to escape an
exploitation-ridden rural economy 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 (US$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 Indian 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 US$11,200) have been withheld.
"I have no money and no hope now."
No comments:
Post a Comment