KM Discussion Forum Meena is gone, Long Live the Ambassador -Kerala MPs want minimum wages for Indians in Oman Indian Recruitment Mafia Tightens Grip on Diplomats! Self proclaimed social workers, media do dirty work for the mafia! An intensive campaign is going on in Kerala and Gulf to silence and punish sincere diplomats posted in various Indian missions in the Gulf countries. The Indian recruitment mafia, mainly the Kerala based visa racket syndicate, headed by a few big Malabaris in the Gulf, is upset with the strengthening of immigration rules to recruit unskilled workers and housemaids. Recently Sebastian Paul MP was in Muscat to "study" the labour problems in Oman after a self proclaimed social worker has started a hate campaign against the current Indian ambassador in Oman and the embassy staff. Nothing except the big ego of the "social worker" and his connection to the recruitment mafia can explain the vendetta against the embassy staff. The mafia which thrived on a roaring visa and human trafficking ring is upset with at least a couple of Indian diplomats and embassy staff who took some bold imitatives to control bringing Indian labourers on visit visa and dump them in the alien countries. Thousands of visit visa holders are trapped in various Gulf countries and the real culprits and beneficiaries of this racket is a coterie of businessmen, middlemen and visa agents. It is a fact that some diplomats are also part of this syndicate but the recent initiatives by some of them, under pressure from media reports and local government action, should be appreciated. Immigration clearance for unskilled labourers in India is now given if the companies recruiting them submit relevant documents and get these attested by the Indian consulate or embassy. The Protector of Immigrants at various airports in India is keeping a close eye on unskilled Indian labourers traveling overseas on visit visas issued by companies or travel agencies. The new rule is to try to protect Indian labourers heading overseas from becoming easy prey to unscrupulous agents and dubious overseas companies. Overseas Indian Ministry records show that there are around five million Indian workers in Gulf countries Bahrain has 400,000, the UAE 1.8 million and Saudi Arabia has 1.4 million. The remittance made to India by them is estimated at Dh55 billion ($15 billion) annually. India is involved in drafting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour with countries in the Middle East. The request to tighten immigration at airports had also come from Indian ambassadors in the Middle East and GCC countries to Vayalar Ravi, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, during his visit to Gulf countries earlier this year. The covert campaign against the Indian missions is spearheaded by a few self proclaimed social workers, with the help of Kerala based channels and newspapers. The recruitment mafia has every reason to be upset and use these media to vent out their anger against people who are seen obstructing their smooth operation. One such comrade in Muscat, notorious for his close links with the recruitment mafia. has been creating media hype about the Indian embassy's "failure" to interfere in protecting illegal immigrants captured by the Oman army. It is a fact that many such operations are conducted periodically and the social worker(s) in question used this particular opportunity to implement the bigger agenda of the mafia. . He went to the extent of influencing the Kerala Members of Parliament to lobby for the removal of Indian Ambassadors removal from Muscat. Remember the same social worker was doing the dirty work behind the scene to remove K.M.Meena, another sincere diplomat who wanted to introduce some radical changes in the functioning of Indian schools in Oman. It is another matter that some of these "comrades" were taking bribes from illegal workers to get outpasses from the Indian Embassy. While everybody knows that embassy officials take bribe to do their job, nobody expected the comrades of Muscat, who work for a popular channel in Kerala to collect money, bribe, for taking out passes. Things have gone to such an extent that a team of Indian Parliamentarians was in Oman to study the situation. It is an open secret that this comrade and company have been acting as moles of the Indian mafia. The real objective of the media campaign against the Indian ambassador in Oman is crystal clear – to please the recruitment racket and to soften the Indian government's stand on recruitment racket. While the comrades know very well that the real culprits in creating so many illegal migrants in Oman or other Gulf countries is a vicious network of recruitment agents, local officials and agents who benefit from the trade. Thousands of people leave peacefully through amnesty schemes and the circle starts once again. It is true that some embassy officials are part of the game, but why target them for the bigger issue? Covert Campaign Against B S Mubarak Similarly, B.S. Mubarak, a diplomat in Indian Consulate Dubai dealing with labour issues, has been facing a similar covert campaign. The diplomat in question has been firmly putting his foot down and asking recruiting firms to provide relevant documents to process their applications. He is known to have asked a leading recruitment and labour supply company owned by a Malabari businessman to report to the mission and clarify about at least four labour harassment complaints lodged by his employees. It is learned that the diplomat was moving ahead with a plan to black list some erring companies – classical type labour supply firms which bring people in large numbers on visit and use them as cheap illegal workers. Paradoxically enough, when hundreds of workers from this old company were agitated, the "people's" channel maintained a studied silence! The track record of the businessman with a number of known and unknown labour supply companies, a jewellery chain and other businesses is not so clean. His labour supply company was wound up due to labour problems – including non payment of payment and maltreatment of workers. After winding up the old company, he entered the scene with another company. There were four serious complaints against the Malayali businessman who did not turn up to the consulate.. Rather he used another clever tactics against the consulate official.(in India and Gulf). With the help of a senior official he "invited" a few selected "social workers" and "media representatives" to see "thousands of Indians stranded in prison without air conditioning, return tickets or other facilities. The campaign went on to save "thousands" of Indians who are suffering, "because the Indian consulate did not give them outpasses". In fact it turned out that the entire jail can accommodate only 750 prisoners and the number of officially acknowledged Indian prisoners is 350! Only 50 did not have documents! All of a sudden the social workers and media got an interest in covering the Indian prisoners plight! The modus operandi which succeeded in Oman, did not work in Dubai! The social workers or the media representatives did not ask the businessman who came forward with 25 free tickets about the actual reasons for so many illegal workers coming from India to end up in jails? Is it not the recruitment sharks and labour supply companies responsible for this mess? No journalist will ever question this question because they are happy with the gold coins that the jewellery owner occasionally throws out to silence the barking watchdogs! In both the campaigns mentioned above, it is the "social workers" and comrades closely associated with the Kairali TV, a channel started by the workers party, spearheading the dirty work for the recruitment mafia. The Muscat comrade commitment to the welfare of Indian immigrant workers is well document in these pages…So it is time to rethink about the real motive behind the campaign to remove Indian Ambassador in Oman and the Indian diplomat in UAE – Is it to serve the interest of Indian workers or to support the recruitment racket! Covert Campaign by School lobby to oust Indian Diplomat intensifies "Comrades" too Exploit Working Class Even though a wide network of volunteers are working overtime to help the average Keralites trapped in various rackets including sex and visa traders, it appears that some comrades or people who pretend as comrades are trying to take up controlling role in such activities. A recent experience of this author at a public function organised by a popular association, which work for the poor and weak sections of the society, was quite surprising. The venue was a seminar on media freedom addressed by eminent intellectuals like Sukumar Azhikkodu, E.M.Ashraf, Pratap Varma and other left intellectual giants. The audience in the Sharjah Indian Association hall consisted of media representatives and members of the association. When the journalist raised a question, referring to a suicide of a Tamil worker, in a labour supply company owned by a man who had major clout in Kairali TV channel and various associations , there was a total outcry from some of the association members. Even though the question was addressed to the dignitaries like Prabha Verma and Sukumar Azhikkodu, who remained silent, the mob psychology of the audience was quite surprising. Even a senior DALA official was feeling embarassed for unknown reasons. More