500 Indians in Yemen pray for a ticket home
The plight of these prisoners of war is going unheard.
More than 500 Indian employees of the Al Thawra Modern General Hospital in Sana'a of Yemen are caught in a no man's land.
Their passports are with the hospital authorities and the Indian government is doing precious little to bail them out.
Already living under the shadow of war, they also face the threat of losing their only means of livelihood. Their passports with the hospital authority, the only exit route was by remitting two months' salary, getting back their papers and paying for the airfare back home. But deprived of the salary for the last two months, they now live like paupers.
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Mr. Vayalar Ravi, told Deccan Chronicle that the Central Government had contacted the embassy there. "Without much delay, a favourable decision will taken in this matter," he added.
However, Mr Abraham George, secretary of Indian Employee Association in Al Thawra General Hospital, when contacted said the association had lodged a complaint with the Indian embassy in Sana'a.
Officials issued a request notice to the hospital authorities citing the government's advisory to all Indians in Yemen to return. But there has been little progress after that.
He said the hospital authorities were unwilling to budge and stuck to the stand that return of passports was possible only on remittance of two months' salary.
“Unfortunately, most of those who signed the contract did it through middlemen and were not aware of the clauses in it. We have also brought this to the attention of the Chief Minister and expect his intervention,” he added.
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