Sameer returns home after 15 harrowing months in Saudi

Ramnath N Pai Raikar | NT

Panaji

This Ganesh Chaturthi has become a real motive for celebration for the Tisk-Usgao-based Naik family, as its young member Sameer has returned home after 15 months of ordeal in Saudi Arabia, following his entrapment in the desert nation by his employer, with little help from the employment agency, which was responsible for taking him there.

Sameer, who had reached Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia in May 2018, on the assurance of being employed as a driver, was immediately stripped of his passport, mobile phone and other documents by his employer. He was then forced to work as a camel-herd in a desert some 300 kms away from Riyadh in blazing sun, with only 3 to 4 hours of sleeping time, and beaten up in case he refused to work.

‘The Navhind Times’ had taken up the issue and constantly followed the status of Sameer vis-à-vis his return to his homeland.

“Sameer reached Mumbai on September 3 and from there to Goa on midnight of September 3/ 4,” informed Digambar, brother of Sameer, who had been desperately exploring all avenues to see his brother back.

“It is a blessing of Lord Ganesha that my brother is back with us on the second day of Chavath (Ganesh Chaturthi),” said Digambar, who has installed a Ganesh idol in his house for five-day celebrations. “We are all happy to see him back,” he stated, adding that his mother is the happiest person in the house.

“The then South Goa member of Parliament and the present Commissioner of NRI Affairs, Narendra Sawaikar, had written a letter to the Riyadh-based Indian Embassy through the central government,” Digambar informed, stating that a Muslim officer at the Embassy, as well as one Sharma, who had recently joined the Embassy went out of their way to facilitate the return of Sameer to India.

“And then Sameer had also developed friendship with some Pakistani nationals, who were working in Saudi Arabia and who helped him a lot with accommodation and so on,” Digambar stated, adding that the most powerful help came from the very mention of “Modi ji” (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). “In Saudi Arabia, Modi ji is a very influential personality; they respect him a lot,” he added, observing that the wheels at the Embassy really turned very fast to facilitate his brother’s return.

Speaking further, Digambar said that the employer of Sameer, who had taken away his passport, came to the Riyadh international airport to return Sameer’s passport. “In fact, the employer was forced to return the passport, after the Embassy threatened to drag him to the court of law, and in such a case, the employer would have required to regularly travel to the court, which was 1,500 kms to 2,000 kms away from his place of residence,” he mentioned, observing that the employer and the employment agency were both really rebuked by the Embassy.

Sameer had fallen prey to a fraudulent job racket run by one Siraj Ansari, a Mumbai-based agent. In fact, Ansari misused the name of M/s Armex Travels, an agency located in Mumbai for the purpose.

According to the job-related papers made available to this daily, the name of the employer of Sameer was Hamoud Mana Bin Hamdan Qahtani. He appeared to belong to a nomadic tribe moving from one part of desert to another, which made it difficult to ascertain his permanent address.

After a due complaint was lodged with the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia, it communicated with the office of M/s Armex Travels, Mumbai, in this regard, with copy of the same marked as ‘Most Immediate’ forwarded to the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the Mumbai-based office of the Protector of Emigrants.

The Embassy had also directed the employment agency to bring back Sameer to India bearing all his visa and travel expenses, within 15 days, failing which the matter would be taken up by the Union Ministry of External Affairs. There was, however, some delay on the part of the agency.

With the return of Sameer to Goa, the ordeal has become a story with a happy ending for the Naik family. However, there could be many Sameers from India still languishing in different countries, due to the frauds committed by greedy employment agencies and selfish employers.