The plight of the migrant labourers came in to focus at a meeting where the kith and kin of the victims gathered to narrate their tales of woes before the activists of various organisations.
The meeting, organised on the occasion of International Migrants Day, was attended by the family members of those who were imprisoned in different Gulf countries. The speakers noted that 6,00,000 migrant labourers from Telangana, most of them from the districts of Nizamabad and Karimnagar were working in Gulf and 6,000 were in jail on different charges, some of them for more than one and a half decade. The most heart-rending was the story of Muthyam who had gone to Dubai as a daily-wage labourer and was now in a jail for the last 15 years. Muthaym’s brother lingam told in the meeting that his mother was hoping to see at least once his face before dying. “We have not seen him ever since he went to Dubai,” he said.
He was sentenced 25-years to imprisonment after his room mate died in an altercation and he was arrested in connection with the incident. “We have run from pillar to post to get some help and get him released from jail but there was no response even from our MlA and MP,” lingam said. A Rajeshwar Rao of Nizamabad narrated his tale in the meeting about the plight of his son Rajnikant who had gone to Dubai three-years ago and was now languishing in jail. His only fault, according to the father, was to ask his family to send some painkillers for his body aches. “First time we sent the medicine there was no problem. But when second time he asked for the medicine for his friend, authorities seized it and arrested my son. Had we known that it was illegal to use this medicine there, we would have never sent it”.
The poor family of Rajeshwara Rao was completely dependent on the money Rajnikant was sending from Dubai. “Now me, my daughter-in-law and three-year-old grandson are on the verge of starvation and desperately trying to get my innocent son released”. Rajnikant worked as an auto driver before he decided to go to Dubai to work there in the hope of improving the lot of his family. The meeting was organised by Migrants Rights Council and Palamuru Migrant labour Union. V Anurada Reddy, a human rights lawyer working for the labor in Dubai said that the responsibility for the situation also lies with the Indian officials who don’t educate the illiterate and semi-illiterate labours about the rules in other countries specially in terms of banned objects.
“Recently an Indian was arrested for carrying poppy seeds which is banned there,” she said. Poppy seed is part of the food preparation in India. Though every embassy has an attaché to take care of the well being of labourers, but they were not discharging their duties, she said. Former Member of Parliament and vice-president of Building and Wood Workers International Ramchander Kunthia said that not only the plight of Indian labourers abroad needs an attention but also the migrants with in India also need safeguards. The Inter-State Migrant labour Act should be amended, he said.