Saudi returnees share their harrowing tales

Many left jobless and fated to an uncertain life in the labour camps.

August 24, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 08:19 am IST - KOCHI:

Shijo Mathew stopped getting salary from January and food five months thence.

He was among the three Malayalis to return from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning after being rendered jobless in the wake of a slump in the construction sector there and left to languish in labour camps under extreme hardships. All of them were employed with a Lebanon-based construction company and had harrowing tales to share on landing at the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery.

Employed as a technician, Shijo, a resident of Payyanur in Kannur, had been in Saudi Arabia for the last seven years. Things had been tough ever since construction companies in the Middle East country started feeling the heat. Left without food since June, the inmates of labour camps heaved a sigh of relief when the government of Saudi Arabia intervened to restore food supply. “While employees were given the opportunity to shift companies, not many were willing considering the rock bottom wagesr,” Shijo said.

Shabeer from Chakkum Kadavu in Kozhikode left for the riches of Saudi Arabia seven years ago. His world turned upside down when salary was disrupted seven months back and he was solely dependent on the company mess for food. But on July 25, even that stopped and waste started accumulating in labour camp.

Muhammed from Melattur in Malappuram said that apart from Indians, people from other countries, including Pakistan and the Philippines, had been left jobless and fated to an uncertain life in the labour camps.

Construction sector hit hard

The construction sector was hit hard owing to the fall in oil prices dashing the dreams and hopes of many thousands. He said he was initially offered ticket to Delhi, which he opposed.

Despite returning empty handed, all three were happy to return to the embrace of their dear ones even as they sympathised with the miserable lives of thousands of Indians still languishing in the labour camps in the Saudi Arabia.

All three who arrived by the Saudi Airlines flight SV 784 were received by a delegation of NoRKA, which offered them Rs.2,000 each for their onward journey.

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