Exploited, ransomed Indian workers in the Gulf left to fend for themselves
- Many victims are unskilled or semi-skilled workers lured by agents’ promises of good pay and easy work who find themselves trapped in low paying jobs
- India’s foreign ministry has received more than 9,500 complaints this year about unpaid salaries, no days off or medical cover and visa refusals
As producer of a long-running television show that spotlights the problems faced by Indians working in the Gulf, Rafeek Ravunther is used to hearing their heart-rending stories of exploitation. But a few years ago, he started noticing something new. Migrant workers, many of them women, were calling the show from Gulf countries saying they were being held for ransom.
Their stories all followed a similar pattern – recruitment agents were holding them hostage, demanding large sums of money from their families in exchange for their release.
“The journey back home has become even more difficult for these migrants because of the demands for ransom by the agents,” Ravunther said. “Many are just stuck there, often under house arrest, because their families can’t pay this ransom.”
Ravunther’s account chimes with what labour activists say is a new and growing form of exploitation in the Gulf states, where the International Labour Organisation estimates 9 million Indians work.
