Immigrant workers abroad are at a disadvantage in a Foreign land.
Some countries are tough on laws in terms of Visa,Immigration,Hospitalization and taking the body of an injured Home.
If the country is an Islamic one,and the immigrant labor is in the Building Industry or such other Industries at the lower rung , their problems are beyond words.
Without the Knowledge of English and laws, they are at their wit’s end.
Uma Padmanabhan in Dubai comes to the aid of such people
A good job for the society worth applauding.
Read On..
Uma Padmanabhan has been stationed at the Al Aweer Immigration Centre and attends to an average of three to four distressed Indian families per working day and sometimes the number is more.
The housewife-turned-social worker has been very active in serving her community, especially during previous amnesty periods.
She gets help from the UAE government, hospital staff, Indian Consulate and the Indian expatriate community. “I am getting support from the UAE government, especially the Economic and Immigration Departments.
“Usually, in the case of chronically sick illegal workers, they charge only the minimum fine and waive the hospital bill. Special thanks to Major Mohammed Al Merri, director-general of DNRD,” the social worker added.
“Today, we have an Indian family in Al Awir, who wants to avail of the amnesty scheme. The family, which consists of a father, mother and two boys below sixteen years of age, wants to take an outpass and return home. They have their passports but could not renew the visas for various reasons,” she said.
Many of these families have been living without visas for two to three years. “On an average, we are getting three to four Indian families. There are also families from Egypt, Sudan and some other countries, availing the amnesty scheme,” she told Emirates 24|7 from the Al Awir centre.
Indian Consulate officials said many Indian families have come forward to make use of the amnesty.
Rajan, head of an Indian family in Ajman, is going through the amnesty scheme, after his wife and two children were saved from suicide by the timely intervention of Uma Padmanabhan and the media.
Among the other distressed family cases that Uma handled includes a teenage girl school student who was abandoned by her parents and who fled the country fearing creditors. “The father of ‘G’ was running an educational institution in Dubai. When financial problems started mounting, he left the country with his son and wife, leaving behind the 13-year old daughter.
She was living here without her parents or passport. I have helped her repatriation to India and the Dubai Immigration Department has helped in such repatriations.
“After she reached home, the girl from Thiruvananthapuram called me to say thank you. I am happy that she could join her family, six months after they left her alone in Dubai,” Uma said.
In the case of Ajman-based Rajan family, the woman was mentally ill and she would lock the toilet door or try to jump from the balcony to commit suicide. “We took her to the Al Amal Mental Hospital and was treated and repatriated to India. Now the husband is also going back to join the family in Kerala,” she added.
In the cases of chronically ill people without documents, friends or relatives, or unclaimed dead bodies or road accident victims, Uma comes forward with help. She has helped repatriation of cancer and kidney patients and even HIV positive Indian workers, especially from Andhra Pradesh. Their families, residing in remote places like Karimnagar and Nizamabad, do not have even money to make a phone call to Dubai to know the whereabouts of their men.
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