Panaji: With visas expired, as many as 3,000 stranded Goans, including elderly and pregnant women in the UAE, some of whom have been laid off or gone unpaid for months as the business has been halted there, are desperate to return to the home state.
These Goans are from Salcete, Quepem, Ponda, Mapusa, Bicholim, Porvorim, Vasco and Panaji, and have been struggling to manage their expenses to survive without any local help or humanitarian assistance.
With the migrants from Kerala, who form the majority of the expatriates, and who have registered to be repatriated are the ones given preference for tickets in the first lot of flights from the UAE, the Goans though have filled applications with the Indian Mission in the UAE did not receive any response even though they fulfil the criteria that also prioritise their return.
In order to get themselves organized, a few stranded Goans formed Watsapp groups to co-ordinate with the state government for repatriation and tried to approach Goa CMO and NRI Commissioner’s office via email, telephonically and Watsapp but they did not get satisfactory response.
They have expressed resentment over the functioning of NRI Commissioner’s office in Goa for moving very slow in responding to their applications which they have filled online for their repatriation.
Among thousands of Goans stranded in the UAE and facing serious challenges due to the lockdown, ‘The Navhind Times’ managed to communicate with few of them telephonically and through Watsapp.
A married couple Dexter Furtado and Sarah Fernandes has been trying hard to return as Sarah is five-month pregnant and there is nobody there to take care of her and nor anyone can come from Goa.
“We have nobody here, so, the best option is to get back to Goa, as it is her 5th month and once she enters her sixth month, the airport authority will not allow her to travel on the health issue,” said her husband Dexter in an anxious voice.
He has contacted the NRI Commissioner’s office in Goa, but no response was received.
“We contacted via e-mail, and tried to call as well but there has been no response,” he added.
Sweta Narvekar from Porvorim, who got stranded in Dubai since March said that she has applied for repatriation with the Indian Mission in UAE and also approached Goa CMO via email a month back requesting early evacuation of her and other Goan members but her email was forwarded to the NRI Commissioner only to find no response.
“I have not received any reponse from the embassy or NRI Commissioner’s office. There are many Goans who are without food and shelter. We are requesting Goa government for direct flights to Goa. We do not see Goa anywhere in the list. In this current situation, when most of the cities are under lockdown and infected, we fear of travelling there and could get infected too,” she said.
Lilia Nilousa D’Cunha is among the thousands of Goans, who form the backbone of Gulf economies and work in the hospitality, retail, transport and services sectors, many of which have been disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Lilia had got job in retail company for five months, however, on May 6 her company terminated her job, and subsequently she applied for repatriation.
“My father passed away last week and my mother has been operated on and advised bed rest. There is nobody to take care of her. There is no response from the embassy. I am requesting the Goa government to help me, and also there are lots of people like me facing the problems,” she said in a sombre voice.
Another Goan Siddhesh Kamat said that he had applied for repatriation with Indian Mission in the UAE under the ambitious Vande Bharat Mission and as well approached Goa CMO via email in April, requesting immediate return but the email was forwarded to the NRI Commissioner’s office in Goa and for almost a month now, there has been no response.
“I am really terrified as I have not received any response neither from the embassy nor from the NRI Commission. It is really difficult to stay without any income source. I expect Goa government to at least request the Indian Mission in the UAE to process our applications faster and include Dabolim airport in the repatriation flight list, he said.
Thousands of Goans stranded in different parts of the UAE have neither a proper roof to stay, nor food to survive.
“There is no local help. I lost my job two months back and have no money to pay the rent and buy groceries,” said Krishna Talawdkar in a gasping voice.
A married woman Amina Khan from Margao, who stays in Dubai with her husband and one and half-year-old son is terrified and shocked after her visa was cancelled by company on March 2020 when she was planning to travel back to Goa.
“I was supposed to travel back to Goa with my son but due to the sudden restrictions on international flights I got stranded here in Dubai. Life after that has been very difficult as with each passing day we have to think about the expenses – house rent, utilities, food and other expenses. We have been desperately waiting for the direct flights from Dubai to Goa so that I can travel to Goa,” she explained.