A NEAR-STARVING illegal Indian worker has been rescued after hiding in a burned-out house in Adliya for nine months.Rajay Kumar, 32, has been given food, clothing and a bed in a charity shelter, while embassy officials and volunteers make arrangements for sending him home under the Easy Exit amnesty.

The labourer came to Bahrain two years ago to work for a construction company, but ran away after friends convinced him he could get better wages elsewhere.

Mr Kumar ran away from the company and the accommodation it provided in search of a new job, but could neither find work nor a place to live.

He has been ’squatting’ in the burned-out shell of a house ever since and says he was too afraid to return to his sponsor.

Mr Kumar’s plight came to light when he approached Al Mahmood Company site manager N K Mohammed Ali, who is also Malappuram Jilla Pravasi Association (MJPA) vice-president.

“As we have construction work going on at various sites, many jobless people approach us to get jobs and he was one of them,” said Mr Ali.

“He came to one of our sites in Manama looking for a job and my supervisor informed me about him.

“When I met him, he was in a very bad condition and told me his story.

“He also told me that he had decided to stay in a burned-out house as he had no other choice and was afraid to go out.

“He said that he was afraid to go back to his company or sponsor, thinking they would punish him for running away from them.

“He had no money and no food.

“I offered him a place to stay and volunteered to help him.

“I also asked him to immediately move out of that house as it could affect his health.”

Mr Ali said he took Mr Kumar to the Indian Embassy on Sunday, where officials have offered to provide an outpass.

“We are also going to pay the Labour Market Regularity Authority (LMRA) fine,” said Mr Ali.

“We have already applied to get the ticket from Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF), which works under the umbrella of the embassy.”

Mr Kumar, from Kanya-kumari in Tamil Nadu state, is married to Bhagawati, who is in India.

MJPA general secretary Chemban Jalal said Mr Kumar was now living in the association shelter and they were providing him with food, clothes and basic necessities of life.

“We are trying to help him as much as we can, as his condition is really bad,” said Mr Jalal.

“It seems he has not eaten anything for many days and his clothes were very dirty, so we provided him with clothes as well as food.

“He (Mr Kumar) is now staying at the shelter provided by the association and we are regularly checking on his condition.

“He looks much better than the first day we met him.”

Mr Jalal advised workers not to listen to their relatives or friends and run away from their sponsors or companies they are hired to work for.

“We have several times urged workers not to run away from their sponsors or companies, as they won’t be able to get any job and their status will be marked as runaway or illegal,” he added.

“There are many cases where workers run away after being convinced they will get better wages outside.

“As they don’t know the rules and regulations of the Bahrain government and companies, they think it’s would be easy to find better earning jobs outside.

“But it’s not true at all. They must use proper channels to find jobs.

“They can always seek assistance from LMRA in case they need to transfer from one company to another.

“If they are not sure of what to do, they can always get advice from the embassy or associations or social workers.” aneeqa@gdn.com.bh

 As a comment on the front page article titled “LMRA sues firms” (GDN, July 22), I would like to congratulate the LMRA for taking the decision to sue these companies.

Most of these firms may seem quite national, but are obviously the main reason for the void of unemployment that has been created at the expense of Bahraini people.

Their aim is to ensure a maximum workflow at a below-average cost. And they have unsuccessfuly tried to avoid paying the nominal charge of BD10, which was enforced as a compensation for preferring to source their manpower from foreign countries (which in some cases proves to be a weekly routine, with a steady flow of non-Bahraini employees pouring into business).

But if they had chosen Bahraini employees instead to begin with, all the money spent, earned, and circulated would remain here at home, thus invigorating the same market that they are complaining about.

It’s a very simple logic really, and if I were a business owner myself, I would gladly respect the labour market laws first and then the beautiful citizens of Bahrain. And last but not least, the market which is in recession. Adel A R Jamal

Bonny Mascarenhas

Nearly 1,500 expats have handed in their contact details to LMRA as a result of road shows organised by the Coordination Committee of Indian Associations (CCIA).

The events are intended to create awareness of the Easy Exit scheme, but volunteers are also distributing the Labour Market Regulatory Authority’s ‘Foreign Workers Details Card’ to the expats attending the events. The card was created to encourage expats to submit their contact information to the LMRA.

The authority uses this information to contact the worker in the case that he or she is reported as a runaway or if any other issues crop up with regard to their work visa. The authority has repeatedly urged residents to log onto its web portal and update their information online.

However, as social workers and activists have pointed out, lower income workers often do not have access to the internet or may lack the necessary skills to update their details online. The new cards seek to present workers with an easier and quicker way of handing in their information.

They are being distributed by several organisations and missions and can be dropped off at collection boxes situated in selected locations, including Lulu Hypermarket in Riffa and Dana Mall. K. T. Salim, a member of CCIA told Bahrain Tribune yesterday that they distributed nearly 2,000 cards and close to 75 per cent of these were filled out and returned.

Waheed Al Belushi, Head of Public Relations at the LMRA, commended the efforts of the organisations and said that they have been instrumental in acquiring the contact numbers of expatriate workers. “They have been able to reach out to hundreds of people in a few visits.

They have to be given credit for doing a great service that will benefit a lot of people.” However, it appears that not all of those filling out the cards fully understand the reasons behind the campaign. When asked by the Tribune why they were filling out the card, a group of workers said that it was so they would be eligible for a raffle draw conducted by the LMRA.

They stated that the prize is a BD20 voucher redeemable at the Bahrain Duty Free. The authority is indeed conducting a raffle draw for a BDF voucher, however this is only application for those taking advantage of the Easy Exit scheme and not those filling out the contact cards.

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain 26 July 2010:

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has extended its full support and cooperation to the national campaign launched recently to address the issue of irregular employment of foreign nationals in the Kingdom known as “Easy Exit project”.

In a joint statement, Gulf Air and the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) announced that the two organizations will address the issue of irregular employment of foreign nationals, who are residing in the country not conforming to the laws and regulations of residency, through voluntary departure from the Kingdom of Bahrain to their countries of origin. Gulf Air will be supporting this process by providing tickets at the lowest price and increasing the limit of free personal luggage allowance.

LMRA vice president for Finance & Administration Mr. Raji A.Rahman appreciated Gulf Air for joining as a supportive partner of this national campaign, by offering encouraging low prices on tickets and extra free baggage allowances for those foreign workers, who wish to leave voluntarily to their home countries.

The generously discounted tickets are for one way journey only on Gulf Air direct flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Thiruvanathapuram, Chennai, Kochi, Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Kathmandu, and Manila and may not be refunded or exchanged. As part of the national campaign Gulf Air will also increase the free baggage allowance limit from 30 kilograms to 40 kilograms without charging any additional fees for those leaving the country under the campaign.

Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Mr. Samer Majali Said “We are pleased to join hands with LMRA in addressing the issue of irregular employment which aims at not only to provide catalytic support to this initiative but also demonstrates our support to the community partnership.”

Gulf Air will distribute guides, issued by the LMRA, pertaining to the rules and regulations of Bahrain labour market to foreign workers and make them aware of their obligations and right. The guide will be distributed from the company’s sales offices located in countries of origin.

Leaflets about the Easy Exit scheme printed in Thai and Tagalog will soon be distributed in hotels, commercial apartments and fast food joints as part of an ongoing awareness drive.

Bahrain Tribune

following a road show held in Hamad Town. The team has held three similar events in the last two weeks, twice in Manama and once in Muharraq. The events include video messages from LMRA officials and the Indian and Bangladeshi ambassadors, as well as an official from the Pakistani Embassy. In addition to this, short video testimonies of people who availed themselves of the Easy Exit scheme are also shown. Puruvally explained that they are currently in talks with officials from the Philippine and Thai Embassies to also include messages from these ambassadors. “Our plan is to go to places which are frequented by members of thes communities and screen the videos,” Puruvally explained. The awareness drives which are conducted every weekend are also being attended by ambassadors and consular officials. Yesterday’s event in Hamad Town was attended by Bangladeshi Ambassador Mohamed Akbar Ali, First Secretary Muhammad Ibrahim and Counsellor Mohamed Saiful