Jeddah: When a young cricket player hit long sixes, he didn’t expect that his ball would fetch an unexpected goal– a human being – in an abandoned structure amidst the rubble of demolished houses at the end of the playground’s boundary in Jeddah. As all players gathered, they were surprised to find a man, whose body emanated a bad odour, residing in the area.
Visibly upset, malnourished and without a shower for days, the man after long pursuit revealed that he is an Indian from Andhra Pradesh.
“I have no friends nor any acquaintances in this city, by wandering I have reached this deserted location. I am exhausted and frustrated as my efforts failed to return home to India,” said Shafiullah Ellalcheruva.
Since most of the undeveloped areas, where the poor and undocumented expatriates lived were demolished, people like him have not been able to find any shelter in the port city that was once known as a mushrooming ground for overstaying foreign expatriates.
He added that had not consumed any food or had showered in the last couple of days, which one could make out looking at his condition.
“I have visited the Indian consulate, police and Saudi Passport offices yet I remained stuck up in Saudi for some reasons which I don’t know,” stated the impoverished man.
The sportsmen – all from Tamil Nadu – sympathised with their compatriot yet due to his physical and also psychological conditions, in addition to the language barrier, held back from extending any further help, apart from offering him food.
Abdul Razaq, a player in the team narrated the conditions of Shafiullah later in the evening to some friends including a Telugu speaker following which they visited the abandoned structure at night to find the man. After some hesitation and confusion, he revealed himself.
The man is a native of the Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh and had been working as a house driver in Jeddah city. He had absconded from the job as he was desperate to return to his country following a two-year contract but has since been unable to find his way back home.
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
