Sharqiya Letter - by Madhu Nambiar Sur Click January 13, 2004
TWO FACES OF NRIs .... FROM FOREIGN PRISONS
From Saudi Arabia : Tearful homecoming of Gulf expatriates
KOCHI, JAN. 10. When the Boeing 777-300 of Emirates landed at Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, this morning, there were quite a few onlookers at the airport curious to see Boeing's most advanced aircraft as well as its 340-odd passengers. Their curiosity must have grown as a group of haggard-looking passengers got off the aircraft and walked towards the emigration counters, reported the Hindu Newspaper.
There were a 100 of them on the flight - all of them deportees from the Gulf. They had languished in the jails of Saudi Arabia for quite some time. And most of them belonged to the northern districts of Kerala.
They had no passports with them. The Emergency Certificates issued by the Indian authorities in Saudi Arabia were the only travel documents they carried. They were hopeful that they would soon get back their passports, now detained in Saudi Arabia.
These deportees had no baggage with them, not even handbags. Some of them carried the magazines they picked from the aircraft. The Customs officials were at a loss of words. Yet, some of them were seen prodding the deportees to buy at least some toffees or chocolates for their kids from the CIAL Duty Free Shop. And some did make purchases with the little money they had.
There were none at the airport to receive them. Most of them were victims of foreign visa rackets that thrive in different parts of the State. Some of them had gone abroad on Umra visa (temporary visa for performing religious rites), giving a test of their luck.
They had not paid for their homeward journey from Saudi Arabia, for they had been caught not only jobless but penniless as well. However, they said that their stay in Saudi jail was not so harrowing, as it would be in India.
It was only two months since Abdul Nazar, hailing from Kalikavu in Malappuram, went to Saudi Arabia. He said he spent the last nine days in Sarafiya Jail, and was happy to rejoin his family without much trouble. Some of his fellow-deportees had spent over a month in jail.
Mr. Nazar said there were hundreds of Keralites in Saudi Arabia wanting to be caught during the Haj season, so that they can come home without paying the airfare. It is said that Saudi Arabian philanthropists meet the airfares of the deportees who are caught without valid documents, particularly during the Haj season.
Mr. Nazar said that the victims were those who land in Saudi Arabia on visas for mean jobs. Most of them, he said, do not realise the folly until they land there. Once they find the job tough and survival difficult, they run away from the sponsor or `kafeel', leaving the passports and other documents with him.
It is said that most of the fugitive Malayalees somehow manage to reach Jeddah, where they knowingly land in the police custody, so that the Saudi Government would arrange their homeward journey. Nearly 25 of the 100 deportees who landed here today were non-Muslims. (courtesy - The Hindu)
The Hindu, January 11, 2004, Sunday
From Malaysia : `We are back, on a fresh lease of life'
By T.S. Shankar
CHENNAI, Jan. 10. The eight Tamil workers, released from a Malaysian prison where they had been lodged on drug trafficking charges, received an emotional welcome when they came out of the Chennai international airport in the wee hours today.
The canopy in front of the arrival gate of the Anna International Terminal (AIT) witnessed a family re-union. The relatives broke into raptures as Durairaj Saravanan, hailing from Chennai, led the returnees out of the airport.
``I was never able to present a reply, to a letter written in three languages - Malay, Tamil and English - to the Malaysian court explaining that we were falsely implicated in the drug-trafficking case. I have brought this paper to show all of you that we were unable to present our case,'' Mr. Saravanan told mediapersons.Facing the flashguns, the returnees, with swollen eyes narrated their eight-month ordeal in the prison. Mr. Saravanan, escorting Varadarajan Ganesan of Ramanathapuram district, who was brought in a wheelchair, explained how they were treated in the cramped prison. ``In the guise of roll-call, we were stripped and paraded; we were provided salt-less food.''
While the returnees, mostly in the age group 24-35, gave an account of the events that led to the April 25, 2003 arrest, Mr. Ganesan, who broke down, said he suffered an internal leg injury when he slipped and fell down staircase during a roll-call. All the eight had been living in a rented house and had valid work permits and Indian passports. ``But, to our shock we were picked up and implicated in the drug trafficking case.''
Elangovan Velusamy and Thiruselvam Ganesan said they could not bear the torture, with the sword of Damocles ? ``death sentence'' ? hanging over their heads. ``We have returned here safely. Thanks to the overwhelming support and the sustained campaign launched by the Tamil people in Malaysia. We wrote letters highlighting our plight to the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader, Vaiko, and also to the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa. After an ordeal which we can never forget in our lifetime, we are back home on a fresh lease of life'', Mr. Thiruselvam Ganesan said .
While thanking volunteers of the Peace Trust, a non-governmental organisation working for the welfare of international migrants, Mr. Thiruselvam appealed to the External Affairs Ministry to set up a high-level committee to look into the problems faced by emigrant workers. (courtesy - The Hindu)
Sharqiya Letter - by Madhu Nambiar Sur Construction Worker?s body being transported home
Sur, Oman: January 10, 2004. Arrangements were under way for the transportation of body of Keralite construction worker Konath Michael Joseph who died in an accident at the construction site in Sur on January 07. Konath Michael Joseph (40) of Gothuruthy, Ernakulam District, was working with M/s. Al Banadool Trading & Contracting Co., Sur, for the last one year. He fell down from a building which was being constructed by his employer, and succumbed to his injuries, on January 07. His body was kept at the Sur Hospital mortuary.He is survived by his wife Gigi and two children.
Malayalam classes progressSur, Oman: January 10, 2004. Unity of Sur Malayalees conducted Malayalam classes. Many Keralite students of Indian School Sur and children who are not sent for regular classes attended the classes.It was a long cherished ambition of Sur Malayalee parents to get their children some coaching in mother tongue. The response was verwhelming.
The classes are conducted in three different locations, thrice in a week. The children are taught there in a natural environment and in a non-conventional method. In a short period, they are able to read and write Malayalam alphabets and words and recite poems. V.P. Ramachandran, C. Mohandas, K.C. Vijayan, Ajayan Madhavan, P.V.
Ajith Kumar, V.Kanakambujan and Mrs. Nandini Mohandas and Mrs. Komalavally Madhusoodanan have taken initiative and played key roles in conducting the free Malayalam classes during winter vacation? and making it a grand success.Raising Election Fund from Diaspora!
Tanmia collaborates with National Bank of Sharjah to organize job-focused training for UAE nationals
Media Monitor: Social Club PRO
ISC Malayalam Update
Indian takes Lucent Technologies to Court for violating Labour Rules
A leading American company which has produced Nobel Prize winners and major scientific advances, has been taken to the labour court by a keralite in Saudi Arabia and in the US for violating Saudi regulations The litigants include, among others, Vikraman Nannoo, an Indian national, who was fired when he protested some of Lucent's policies. Earlier last year, National Group of Communications and Computers Ltd (NGC), a Saudi company, filed a civil lawsuit against Lucent Technologies. NGC currently operates as Silki La Silki Telecommunications Company. Among the charges filed against Lucent Technologies were its departure from corporate governance rules and good business ethics, not obeying the laws of the Kingdom, disregarding the provisions of contracts signed with employees and depriving employees of their legitimate dues.
Saudi Newspaper, the Arab News quoted Nannoo as saying that Lucent's policies compelled some employees to leave the company. The newspaper said the harassed workers resorted to legal action to redress their grievances. According to Nanoo, he was eligible for an ESB amounting to SR128,370, but Lucent offered only SR78,820. As a result, he filed a case in Riyadh on April 6 last year. Eight months later Lucent produced a draft for SR129, 640 which was more than his dues. He filed another claim for damages done to him during the period. The damages were: Taking the Iqama for sending him on exit-only visa while the labor case was pending, putting him in police custody by making false complaints, describing him as a criminal in front of other employees and not allowing him to accept employment with another company.
Citing an example of discriminatory practices followed by Lucent, he said the company had a published policy that employees leaving the company due to shortage of work could pursue other employment opportunities in the Kingdom with companies that are not in competition with Lucent.
At the same time, there were instances in which the company allowed employees to work for its rivals, the litigant said, naming some of the employees. An American employee of Lucent observed that some actions taken by local executives, if taken in the US, "would bring down the company with multimillion-dollar lawsuits. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission rules and regulations and Foreign Corrupt Practice Act also bind all American companies doing business outside the US. Lucent Technologies is no exception to the rules."
Beware of HIV Positive Needles in Pubic Places
There are all sorts of loons loose in the world. This happened in Paris. A few weeks ago, in a movie theatre, a person Felt something poking from her seat. When she got up to see what it was, She found a needle sticking out of the seat with a note attached saying : "You have just been infected by HIV". The Disease Control Centre (in Paris) reports many similar events in Many other cities recently. All tested needles WERE HIV Positive. The Centre also reports that needles have been found in cash dispensers at public Banking machines. We ask everyone to use extreme caution when faced with this Kind of situation. All public chairs/seats should be inspected with Vigilance and caution before use. A careful visual inspection should be enough. In addition, they ask that each of you pass this message along to all members of your family and your friends of the potential danger. The information about the Paris incident has been sent by the Ville d'Issy Les Moulineaux Municipal Police and to all departments of Ile de France who have transmitted this news to all its' cities.
Recently, one doctor has narrated a somewhat similar instance that Happened to one of his patients at the Priya Cinema in Delhi. A young girl, Engaged and about to be married in a couple of months, was pricked while the Movie was going on. The tag with the needle had the message "Welcome to the World of HIV+ family". Though the doctors told her family that it takes about 6 months before the virus grows strong enough to start damaging the system and a healthy victim could survive about 5-6 years, the girl died in 4 months, perhaps more because of the "Shock - thought". We all have to be careful at public places, rest God help! Just think about saving a life by forwarding this message. Please, take a few seconds of your time to pass along