Jeddah: Dowry, a widely spread social illness in India, is a nightmare for poor parents with daughters, and this has led many of them to explore work opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. It is also one of the reasons several poverty-stricken expatriates stay back in the country irrespective of their legal status so long as they can save a little bit of money.
60-year-old, ailing and paralysed Ashraf Ali resident of Azad Market in Delhi, who was repatriated home on Sunday in a state of motionlessness exemplifies a father’s struggle for dowry.
Unable to return home to India owing to visa expiry and blacklisted, paralysed Ashraf Ali sought the help of Indian Consulate in Jeddah, 500 kilometers away from Abha where he was admitted in a hospital.
Ashraf Ali worked as cook at different labour camps, also as a daily-wage laborer wherever possible and also worked as driver.
The father of five daughters out of six children, distress Indian worker solo motto is marrying of his daughters. He was able to provide a good education to his daughters compared with his relatives.
Often, education is touted as the cure-all for social malaises and inequalities. However, it found that educated grooms tend to demand higher dowries. Education is reduced to just another factor that determines market rate.
The corona pandemic has changed dimensions of his life as without any job and source of income he faced tough challenges. His residency visa (Iqama) expired and his employer notified him as huroob means absent from the work which cripples the life of a foreign worker in Saudi Arabia. The Huroob status prevents the departure of foreign employees from the country and blocks all access including bank accounts.
Indian diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah receive dozens of requests from blue-collar NRI workers pleading to facilitate their return home from the oil rich Kingdom.
With expiry of Iqama and Huroob, ailing Ashraf Ali stranded, found himself in a web of issues, he developed high blood pressure thus led to hypertension, finally paralysed.
His family sought assistance from Pravasa Bharatiya Sahayak Kendra of Indian Consulate in Jeddah, 24×7 help center of Indian external affairs ministry to assist its nationals in Gulf countries.
Indian officials Namo Narayana Meena and Consulate Volunteer Ashraf Kutchichal worked nearly two months to visit different Saudi government entities to revoke Huroob and obtain exit clearance to return India. Finally, Ashraf Ali was repatriated to Delhi.
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