Faced with an uncertain future, job loss and ‘overstaying’ Indians trying to take advantage of the amnesty offer amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation, thousands of expatriates working in Kuwait are desperate to return back.
Of the 50,000 expatriates registered with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, at least 17,000 hail from the Telugu speaking Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States. Kuwaiti government had offered amnesty to all ‘illegally’ staying foreigners to leave their country in view of coronavirus.
Limited number of flights operated to Hyderabad as part of Vande Bharat mission has only added to the anxiety of the Telugus, according to Gangula Muralidhar Reddy, a social worker helping the Indians in Kuwait.
Mr. Reddy on Sunday called The Hindu from Kuwait City to narrate the woes of the thousands of Indians, more particularly those from TS and AP. “For the last 53 days, ever since the Kuwaiti government said all ‘overstaying’ foreigners will be allowed to leave the country, a large number of people have made beeline to the Indian Embassy and enrolled themselves,” he said.
According to him, there is still no word from the authorities and the Indians are getting anxious. “A large number of the hapless expatriates have lost their jobs and have no money to buy air tickets. Several of them, including women have health issues and are completely demoralised and desperate to return home,” Mr. Reddy pointed out. Four Migrants Welfare Association representing Telangana State and over 40 organisations working for the expatriates from AP are looking at the two governments to ensure their safe passage.
Mr. Reddy said in the 90s, at the height of Iraq War, thousands of Indians were evacuated free of cost by Air India. “The government of India can do the same this time also in view of the pandemic,” he said adding that this would be of great help to the Indians. “They can be sent to institutional quarantine and later provide employment as per their skills,” he urged the TS and AP governments.
As per the data, 1.68 lakh illegal expatriates are staying in Kuwait, of whom Indians constitute 42,000. All these Indians have registered for safe exit from Kuwait and are presently housed in the Amnesty Centres run by that country.
The appeal for Telangana government to step in and bring back the expatriates staying in Kuwait is growing. “The AP government has created a separate NRI department but in Telangana there is no such department or ministry. This is a long pending demand as lakhs of Telangana expatriates work in Gulf countries,” Mr. Reddy said.
Sharing bread to survive
“We are surviving on Khubz bread for the last few weeks. A packet of five such flat breads are shared by three of us Telugus,” said Bhukya Sambhaji, an expatriate from Sirikonda mandal of Nizamabad district about their plight post lockdown.
“For the last two months, we did not get salary and we were evicted from our rooms for non-payment of rent. We took shelter in our friends’ room but again driven out. We expected our passports to come by May 30 but it did not come and we have been driven away by the local police. We are desperate to return to India,” he said pleading in an audio WhatsApp message sent to The Hindu on Sunday.
Another worker too echoed similar sentiment and pleaded with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait to bail them out as they feared that coronavirus would spread further. “Our hopes were on lifting of lockdown in Kuwait from May 31 but it has now been extended by two more weeks and we do not know what is going to happen,” he lamented.
