"‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally return

[maomao]

CHENNAI: The wounds on her hands are flaking and her hair, cut forcefully by her employers, is slowly growing back, but it will be quite some time before Sundari Manickam is able to pick up the pieces of her life. The 45-year-old is among several women who fell victim to agents who promised them a better future in the Gulf, only to be abused and underpaid by employers or pushed into the sex trade.

"When the agent, my neighbour, told me I could earn a good salary as a domestic help in Kuwait, I didn't think twice," says Sundari, who took a loan to pay the agent Rs 60,000. Her dream turned sour the day she landed in Kuwait and began working for a family. "They made me use acid to clean the bathrooms without any protection. When my skin broke into blisters I asked to be taken to a doctor, but they refused," she says. The family cut her hair after they found a strand in their food. "They denied me food for an entire day. I escaped to the embassy the following day."

More than half a dozen workers returned here this week with tales of abuse, harassment and sexual exploitation. Most of them are from broken families and were duped by city-based agents.

"My agent got a handsome amount after selling me to a household in Kuwait. When my employers refused to pay my salary, I called him repeatedly, but he did not answer. My papers were with my employers and I had nowhere to go," says Anushya Begum, 27, who escaped by slithering down a drainpipe. "I sought refuge in the embassy and had to wait two months for my passport to be returned," says the woman whose husband deserted her and their one-year-old daughter.

The women say thousands more are languishing in the Gulf without help. "At the embassy, we met so many women with shocking stories," says Nadhiya Pazhani, 30, who escaped from a sex-trafficking ring.

According to the overseas affairs ministry, about 5 lakh Indians work in Kuwait, 48% of whom are in the unroganised sector.

The workers have appealed to the government to bring back the thousands of workers in the embassy shelter and in jails.

"‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally return home - The Times of India

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

Re: "‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally ret

The government won't respond to Kuwait since India is earning a lot of money from remittances sent by overseas Indians in Oil-rich countries.

 

[drkrn]

Re: "‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally ret

indeed india should be thankful to kuwait & others for repatriating indians who were there illegally most of the times.though conned by travel agents.

indian govt should direct citizens to go through a proper channel to work in those countries.

 

[Dovah]

Re: "‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally ret

indeed india should be thankful to kuwait & others for repatriating indians who were there illegally most of the times.though conned by travel agents.

Yeah, no. Nowhere is it mentioned that they were in Kuwait illegally. Infact, the "owners" confiscated her papers and denied here basic rights, we have nothing to thank the Kuwaiti government for, if they can not protect the human rights of immigrants than they deserve to be criticized in the harshest of terms.

The travel agent should be sued and tried and if found guilty of complicity then punished.

 

[drkrn]

Re: "‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally ret

Yeah, no. Nowhere is it mentioned that they were in Kuwait illegally. Infact, the "owners" confiscated her papers and denied here basic rights, we have nothing to thank the Kuwaiti government for, if they can not protect the human rights of immigrants than they deserve to be criticized in the harshest of terms.

The travel agent should be sued and tried and if found guilty of complicity then punished.

usually the gulf companies gives regular advertisements for required jobs or hire a consultancy for workers.its true that these countries keep your passport "as per the agreement" and when recruited properly every thing goes in a proper way.

occasionally people may get rejected due to many reasons,say health a point on which there are stringent rules.the workers may be due to need of money or unable to understand the rules,being a moron,or with death wish to get into the respective country contacts an unusual quack who obviously cheats you throwing the person into an oblivion.

its obvious here the employer who is at an advantage exploits the workers weakness ,pay him less,make him work more.technically they can do nothing except pray for their mercy or indian embassy.

immigrants????do gulf countries accept immigrants????they are only people with a work permit.
or else you are an intruder.

not every country is as good as india to call a person illegal immigrant giving him things more than necessary

 

[Dovah]

Re: "‹Abused, exploited Indian domestic workers from Gulf finally ret

usually the gulf companies gives regular advertisements for required jobs or hire a consultancy for workers.its true that these countries keep your passport "as per the agreement" and when recruited properly every thing goes in a proper way.

occasionally people may get rejected due to many reasons,say health a point on which there are stringent rules.the workers may be due to need of money or unable to understand the rules,being a moron,or with death wish to get into the respective country contacts an unusual quack who obviously cheats you throwing the person into an oblivion.

its obvious here the employer who is at an advantage exploits the workers weakness ,pay him less,make him work more.technically they can do nothing except pray for their mercy or indian embassy.

You said that these people were in Kuwait illegally in post #3. Then you said we should be thankful to Kuwaiti government.

1. Saying that these people were in Kuwait illegally is pure conjecture.
2. We have nothing to be thankful to the Kuwaiti government for when they can not guarantee basic human rights to people of other nationalities in their country, illegal or otherwise.

not every country is as good as india to call a person illegal immigrant giving him things more than necessary

No. Most civilized countries have a well established mechanism to deport the illegals and ensure their human rights, to say that "oh, it's very normal" is insensitive to the people who have been at the receiving end of this kind of abuse.

Regarding Indian Embassy's role, the IE can not work independently from the government in Kuwait, it is the Kuwait that has to enforce laws to make sure that such incidents do not come to pass.