(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Kerala, which is grappling with the prospect of a massive reverse exodus of migrants from Saudi Arabia under the Nitaqat programme, was jolted on Friday by the sudden deportation of 25 Keralites from Kuwait.
The deportees, who arrived at the New Delhi airport, said a large number of expats were being caught and detained in jails every day for reasons not known to them. According to them, over 4000 Indians, including 1000 Keralites, were languishing in various jails in the Gulf country.
Harish, one of the 100 deportees who arrived at New Delhi, said the deportees were being sent from the prison to the airport straight. They are not allowed to take their belongings, meet their family members and collect their earnings.
Harish, who was caught from his work place, had nothing except the clothes he worn when he arrived at the airport. Others were also in similar devastating condition. Most of them had not eaten anything for 10 to 15 hours and had no money to reach their destinations.
The Kerala government came to the rescue of the Keralites after the deportees described their plight to the media. The Non-Resident Keralites Affairs department took them to the Norka cell in Delhi and provided them with clothes, food and other basic facilities they required.
Norka Minister K C Joseph said that the government would provide them ticket to return to Kerala.
He said that the state government had no clue about what was happening in Kuwait. He has urged the Indian Embassy to find out the reasons and facilitate the safe return of the deportees to the state.
Most of the deportees themselves have also no idea. They said they were physically roughed up when they asked about the reason for their deportation. The deportees said 95 per cent of them had their valid residency documents.
Reports in the Kuwait media revealed that the deportation is part of a strategy worked out by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour to deport 100,000 labourers each year to reduce the country's dependence on the expatriates.
The authorities are currently booking visa violators and repeat traffic rule offenders through a series of crackdowns. The reports said hundreds of such people have been arrested and lodged in various jails now.
The India and Bangladesh embassies have expressed serious concern over lack of transparency in the actions. A report in an Indian community portal said the two embassies had complained that the actions were mostly arbitrary.
They said their nationals were deported without giving them an opportunity to even receive their dues from their employers. Many of the deportees were sent back home through the use of travel documents released by their respective embassies, instead of their original passports that, in most cases, are kept by their sponsors.
The reports said nearly 1,260 people of Arab and Asian nationalities were deported since the crackdown was launched late last month. Deportation was enforced in cases of repeat offenders.
Kuwait Malayali Cultural Council general secretary Basheer Thaha said they had limitations in intervening in the matter.
He said that the deportations were the result of the Kuwait government decision to implement their laws strictly.
"We have no right to intervene in this. We have brought the situation to the notice of the concerned authorities. They have promised to do whatever possible," Basheer said.
PMA Salam, Kerala MLA, expressed shock over the happenings.
He came down heavily on the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait for his failure to inform the Indian authorities about the actual situation prevailing in the country.
The legislator has urged the ministers of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs to take up the matter with Kuwaiti authorities and ensure that the Indians are not harassed.
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