Three helplines,but not much help

Why Indians working in Dubai are not banking on the new 24-hour helpline

In a land not their own,they had two lines to turn to for help. The two lines in Dubai,their wires unable to contain the uncertainty and confusion,were inundated with calls. So the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has now introduced one more helpline for labourers,domestic help,debt-ridden managers and the rest of the 1.75 million Indian nationals living and working in the UAE.

A core component of the Indian Workers Resource Centre,which was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on her maiden Gulf Tour last week,is the 24-hour helpline. Unlike the consulate-run helpline which operates during working hours,the ambit of the 24-hour helpline is wider. It will serve more people with special emphasis to women in need,blue-collar workers,patients undergoing treatment and prisoners in UAE jails.

But Sharad Kumar,26,a labourer from Kerala,is skeptical. A resident of the labour camp at Sonapur,which is home to a large per cent of migrant community,Kumar says,What use is a helpline when the first thing the embassy asks for is a passport.

Though illegal,the existing norm in Dubai is that the employer,the arbab,takes the workers passport upon arrival. Were here as guests until they kick us out. Who can face up to the locals? says Kumar.

G Peter,24,from Goa,is a construction worker. Working at the Dubai Culture Village site,he called up the existing helpline last year when he was not paid for three months. No action was taken despite UAE labour regulations being rather stringent on paying employees.

Our boss yelled mafi faida no use. There were 110 of us last year,now we are down to 60. They sent off the rest,our embassy had no control,why should the new helpline?

K V Shamsudheen,52,from Kerala has been working in Dubai for over three decades. He runs the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust. Shamsudheen,who runs Dubais second helpline hes got an hourly slot on Mondays on Asia Net Radio,was roped in by the Embassy to train the workers at the new help centre.

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After the crisis last year,Id get about 300 calls per hour. The facilities are better these days than they were during the 90s boom but the problems have increased, he says.

Garth Mitchell,who runs Valley of Love,an NGO,foresees no immediate change. So many workers have been kicked out,many are now abandoned by employers who have no work for them, he says.

But K Kumar,convenor at the Indian Community Welfare Committee ICWC run by the Indian Consulate,argues otherwise. The helpline,he says,will be the first line of contact. In the past,tow income workers have not had the right kind of support. That is about to change,the 24-hour helpline will show them otherwise. The challenge here will be to ensure that is it backed by both the Consulate and the local authorities.

Officials have said the helpline is a pilot project that is to be replicated in other Gulf Cooperation Council GCC countries upon successful implementation. It will be run by DFS Global the company won the bid to operate the 24-hour helpline. Embassy sources have revealed that the staff will consist of experts in psychology,immigration law and finance.