HYDERABAD: Sivarathri Ramulu (65) sent his two sons S Mallesham (40) and S Ravi (28) to Dubai in 2005. They borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh from private money lenders for the journey. Their hopes to earn some livelihood were dashed when they landed in jail after being listed as accused in the murder of a Nepali. Both brothers have been languishing in jail for the past seven years. This is the sorry tale of many families who arrived in Hyderabad to attend the International Migrants’ Day organised by the Migrants Rights Council and National Domestic Workers Movement on Sunday. Most families are forced to send their sons to work in the Gulf countries to pay off their debts and lack of employment for youth in the state. According to Ramulu, who hails from Karimnagar district, four other people from Karimnagar and four Pakistanis have been in a Dubai jail for the same murder. Clifford Correia, a social worker for Indian migrant labours in Bahrain said the Indians who are migrating to Gulf countries were becoming prey to stern laws in those nations. “The laws in India can be manipulated if one bribes but not in Gulf countries,” he added. The MRC and NDWM presented the Pravasa Mithra awards to Umrani Subramanyam and Clifford Correia for their work in UAE and Bahrain respectively to help Indian migrants safely reach home. Mallesham has two daughters and a son. Mallesham had gone to Dubai to work as a labourer but he is also languishing in jail for the murder. His wife Rajavva got her daughter Gangavva married last May and after the wedding, their debts crossed `4 lakh. She then decided to send her son Srinivas (21) six months back to Muscat, so they can can pay off the debts. Rajavva said they are left with no option but to send their family members to Gulf countries to earn livelihood as there were no employment for the uneducated here. “The money I get for beedi rolling is not sufficient. So I had to send my son to Muscat even though my husband has been lying in jail for the past seven years,” said a helpless Rajavva. All the families had arrived at the event to urge officials attending the meeting to help them get back their family members home. Correia said as many as 50 to 60 Telugu people were languishing in Bahrain jails. Compared to other Gulf countries, the Bahrain government is liberal in freeing migrants, he said. Principal secretary to labour department, Dasari Sreenivasulu asked victims not to migrate to Gulf countries following the middlemen’s advice. He asked the state government set up an overseas manpower company. Sreenivasulusaid around 1,900 Telugu people were languishing in Gulf jails. He said they are putting all efforts to bring back the imprisoned persons.
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