Workers stuck in Gulf countries just want to come back home

TIRUCHY: Hundreds of workers from Tiruchy and Thanjavur districts who had gone for temporary jobs to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have appealed to the Indian government and other officials to arrange for their return to Tamil Nadu by arranging special flights.

The workers would have returned earlier, if not for the lockdown. Tiruchy native Raja and 150 other persons are stranded in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to TNIE, Raja said, "We have all come for an oil plant shutdown job that was completed by April. Due to the lockdown, we are stranded here. All that we earned has been spent on surviving here." The workers were staying in camps arranged by their employers. They were fed and paid while they had work, but since their work period got over, they have been cooking for themselves and spending their earnings on basic needs as they wait to return home.

Justin, who hails from Maraneri village near Boothalur in Thanjavur district, had also gone for shutdown work in Abu Dhabi and is stuck there in a camp. He told TNIE, "In my company alone, there are 140 of us from Tamil Nadu. This is temporary work on a one-month contract. Employers do not support us anymore. We would have been home by now if not for the lockdown. All our earnings are exhausted and getting through each day is an ordeal. I work only temporarily in Abu Dhabi whenever plant shutdown jobs are available. I am otherwise a farmer and cultivate two acres back home. This is the period for cultivation and I need to get back."

These workers said their colleagues from other States have already returned home on special flights. It is only workers from Tamil Nadu who are stuck in these countries. The stranded workers asked for a special flight to Tiruchy to transport them back home, as most of them are from the State's central districts.

They made videos with all of them standing outside the camp, wearing masks and making their pleas to the authorities for special flights.