DUBAI A gut-wrenching story involving 23 abandoned construction workers is ending on a happy note thanks to Dubai authorities and some Good Samaritans.
Rendered homeless and penniless following a series of catastrophic events, the men (12 Pakistanis and 11 Indians) were on the brink after being holed up in a bus for nearly two weeks without food and water.
But in a dramatic turn of events, they have begun returning home, with the biggest group leaving on December 24.
Just last Thursday, they didn’t have a semblance of hope as their cooking cylinder had run out of gas. It didn’t matter though as by then they had nothing left to cook.
As their employer disappeared with company funds, the workers were forced to fend for themselves in a rundown labour camp on the Fujairah-Oman border
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All they had was barely enough fuel in the bus, parked near the Ministry of Labour office in Al Qusais where the men had filed a complaint against their absconding employer who had not paid them for months and also withheld their passports.
Left in the lurch
After their employer disappeared with company funds, the workers were forced to fend for themselves in a rundown labour camp on the Fujairah-Oman border.
However, when its electricity and water connections were cut over unpaid bills, they hit the road in the company bus and had been living in it since.
There were days when they had to go without a single morsel of food. Many became ill.
Happy ending: The workers were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from Good Samaritans in Dubai
But just when things could have gotten worse, their desperate plight came to the notice of the Dubai Police Human Rights Division, Dubai Labour Authority and some UAE residents.
What happened next is a measure of Dubai’s generosity and its reputation as a city that truly cares.
Good Samaritans provided everything from food and counselling to medical care and transport services to the 23 workers
A nearby mosque opened its doors to the workers so that they could shower and rest.
As word spread, several do-gooders swung into action.
Businessman Mashkoor Hasan moved some workers to an accommodation in Sharjah and bought them new mattresses and blankets.
Fashion designer Juhi Yasmin Khan arranged food from Dar Al Ber Society and Jebel Ali Gurudwara and got a team of doctors from Aster Medical Clinic to provide medical aid.
She also coordinated with Indian and Pakistan consulates and the local sponsors of the workers to arrange their passports and return flight tickets.
Social worker Girish Pant pursued the case at the Ministry of Labour. IT professional M. Ali drove 120 kilometres from his Satwa home to pick up dinner from a caterer near Abu Dhabi.
Entertainment: Aftab Alam entertained them with music and mimicry
Businessman Inam Abidi, legal adviser Farhat Ali Khan, banker Nadeem Husain and marketing manager Rashid Ghufran visited the workers almost daily with essential supplies while engineer Imtiyaz Khan provided telephone recharge cards so that they could stay connected with anxious families back home.
Counselling: Volunteers gave counselling sessions to the workers
To lift their spirits, radio jockey Aftab Alam entertained them with music and mimicry.
“Dharmendra, one of the labourers, lost his father on Friday and went into severe depression. Another worker became a nervous wreck as his mother had taken critically ill. The mood was grim so I cheered them up,” he said.
Homebound
All Indian workers are flying back this morning. Three of the 12 from Pakistan have already returned and efforts are on to send back the remaining men.
As a farewell gesture, the Good Samaritans hosted a dinner for the workers at a Sharjah restaurant on Monday.
In keeping with their food preferences, the menu was all vegetarian. Towards the end of the evening, they were each handed Rs5,000 (Dh275) cash and goodie bags as parting gifts.
The smiles back on their faces, the workers were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from various quarters.
“Until recently we were sleeping on empty stomachs, but now we have a problem of plenty,” said safety adviser Arun, pointing to boxes of takeaway food, fruits and juice bottles stacked in their accommodation.
“It was so touching,” said Bhuveneshwar Misra, 37, from Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh. The father of two, like many of his co-workers, paid Dh4,000 to an agent in his hometown for a job in the UAE.
Parting gifts from do-gooders who swung into action to help the hapless labourers
“I sold my ancestral land to raise the money. I was duped. I was promised a salary of Dh2,500, but was paid just Dh1,000,” rued Misra who was employed as a concrete tester since relocating to the UAE last February.
India’s externalIndia’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has now hinted at strong action against the ‘unscrupulous’ agent.
'The way people have gone out of their way to ensure our wellbeing will remain etched in our hearts'
“So many people helped us, it’s incredible,” said carpenter Shiv Kumar, holding back tears. “I thought I would be leaving the UAE with bad memories, but not anymore. The way people have gone out of their way to ensure our wellbeing will remain etched in our hearts.”
YOUSPEAK: Have you helped turn around someone’s life? How?
