Indians face tough times in Kuwait

MUMBAI, FEB 21: Indians residing in Kuwait are facing tough times from their employers who are holding back passports and not letting them l...

MUMBAI, FEB 21: Indians residing in Kuwait are facing tough times from their employers who are holding back passports and not letting them leave the country till the fears of US-led air strikes get cleared.

Annual vacations sanctioned by employers are either being cancelled or being postponed, because employees who are enjoying their vacation back home have extended their stay due to the fear of a war.

Another reason for not releasing the passports is also because the Kuwait government has informally directed the employers not to create a panic situation in the country, said an official at the Indian Embassy in Kuwait. “The state-owned Kuwait Oil Corporation has also stopped its employees from taking a vacation till the situation tides over,” he added.

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However, a few Indians have reported to duty after enjoying their annual leave, said a marketing executive at a department store in Kuwait. “Unless you are in dire need of a job you won’t return,” he added. In a telephonic interview with the heFinancial Express, OP Makhija, second secretary press and media, at the Indian Embassy in Kuwait said, “most Indians who have gone on leave have not returned due to the present crisis in Iraq”. “But we are prepared to handle any eventualities if a war is declared on Iraq,” he said. The Indian Embassy, however, has no gas masks despite the fact that Iraq is alleged to possess chemical weapons, whereas embassies of other developed nations like US, Germany and UK have already supplies their staff with gas masks and also prepared to supply the masks in case of such an eventuality.

The Kuwait government has already supplied the gas masks to their defence and police personnel, said the official.

When asked why the Indian Embassy lacks the basic amenity, Makhija said, “we are geared to deal with the situation and have opened a 24-hour help-line for Indians”. There are about 200,000 Indians working in Kuwait.As for the employers holding back passports of their employees, Makhija said that the government ofKuwait has no such policy and the sponsors are doing this to keep their employees under control. Employers don’t want their companies to suffer losses and therefore are not releasing the passports, said an executive at a department store in Kuwait.

“But Indians should approach us if such is the case, we will arrange for all the travel documents and even issue duplicate passports if required. So far, we haven’t received any such complaints,” Makhija concurs. Indians on the other hand do not want to approach their embassy because they fear they will not be reinstated if they go on leave.