32 Tamilians stranded in Kuwait brought home after External Affairs ministry intervention

With the employers also failing to renew their contracts, the workers could not move out of the place where they had been forcibly confined.
The Tamil labourers from Kuwait at Tiruchy airport.(Photo| EPS)
The Tamil labourers from Kuwait at Tiruchy airport.(Photo| EPS)

TIRUCHY: As the Air India Express flight from Kuwait docked at the Tiruchy International Airport on Thursday, there was a huge sigh of relief. Among the hundreds of passengers in the flight, 32 natives of the state who were stranded at the Arab country without any food for the last four months returned home.

In a special rescue mission, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday brought back 32 out of 102 natives from the state who were stranded in Kuwait after their employer, a harbour contractor did not give them any salary for four months.

With the employers also failing to renew their contracts, the workers could not move out of the place where they had been forcibly confined. However, it was a relief for the workers as the flight landed in the Tiruchy airport on Thursday morning.

Recalling his experience, Ayyapan, a stranded labourer and native of Tirunelveli said, "I cannot describe the relief I am feeling right now as we have been through several hardships in the last four months. With no money and proper food, we have confined ourselves to our camps depending entirely on some food arranged by Tamil organisations. I am thankful to the government for intervening and bringing us back."

The 32 workers belonging to 11 different districts in the state were provided with proper sanitation facilities by the district administration and later sent to their home districts through planned buses. The labourers belonged to various districts including Ramanathapuram, Thiruvarur, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli and many others.

The workers who posted a video of themselves together in the social media asking for help caught the attention of MP and MDMK general secretary Vaiko who appealed to External Affairs Minister Mr Jaishankar to take immediate steps through the Indian Embassy in Kuwait in October.

"Following the intervention by the legislators and the Court, we have finally come back to our home country. We do not have any money nor the annual incentives were given. It will be very helpful if the government could look at our plight and provide us some help,"Vaiko said.

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