Duped Workers Get Air Ticket Home from UAE

By Nasouh Nazzal, Staff Reporter (Gulf News) Published: August 10, 2008, 23:49
Ras Al Khaimah: Three Indians who were duped by a recruitment agent in India and arrived at the RAK Indian Association in a desperate state have been provided with air tickets home.
It emerged the trio was part of a group of ten duped by an agent who collected 1 million Indian rupees (Dh87,428) from the victims, who had all been promised well-paid jobs in the UAE.
The victims from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu arrived in the UAE after they each paid the agent 100,000 Indian rupees. However, the agent only provided them with visit visas and disappeared upon their arrival in the UAE.

Shocked
The workers had been promised food and shelter until they were fully settled in their new positions, but were shocked after realising they had been tricked. A.M.M. Noorudheen, general secretary of the Ras Al Khaimah Indian Association, said three out of the ten victims approached the association in a miserable condition, and the association provided them with food, money and shelter.
"With the help of another Indian charity, the association arranged for the air tickets of the three victims who were sent back to their homeland," he said. He added that the families of the victims had reported the case of the Indian agent to the Indian law enforcement authorities, and the families reported that the authorities had already put the agent behind bars. "We are still waiting for the seven other victims to show up at the association for help but we do not know their whereabouts, they must be truly suffering," he said.

"We are ready to handle the cases of the remaining victims and send them back home once they appear," he added. Noorudheen said Indian embassies, consulates, and Indian associations have allocated budgets to educate people about the dangers of untrustworthy recruitment agents who are on the rise in India but "it seems that a lack of public awareness still prevails."

Association: 'Ready to investigate'
The Ras Al Khaimah Indian Association called on Indians interested in working in the UAE to contact their Consulate General in Dubai or Indian associations to inquire about their recruitment agents before paying a penny for their journey to the UAE for work which may not even exist. "We are ready to investigate and report back to our fellow Indians as soon as possible to avoid them falling victim to these agents," he said. "We do not want Indians to land in trouble, especially when they are away from their homeland," Noorudheen added. The Indian Association here has suggested to the Indian and UAE authorities that the signing of official labour contracts be authorised in India.
"Many recruitment agencies give oral contracts and promises to Indians to work in the UAE for Dh1,200 to Dh1,500 but those labourers are usually shocked to find that their salaries do not exceed Dh700 to Dh800 and that they are forced to take the job for at least a three-year term.