Jeddah: Whether it is the scorching sun in summer or chilling conditions in winter in the desert plateau of Tabuk Hyderabad native Ahmed Shareef has been scouting for any odd job, be it as a construction labourer or plucking vegetables on the farm that can fetch him a meal for the day. However, it all depends upon his luck. Sometimes he does not even have a job for weeks on end.
When some Indians on the busy Tabuk-Madinah highway drop a food pack, the 44-year-old Hyderabad man feels ashamed over the circumstances that landed him in such pitiable conditions.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic which impacted the livelihoods of some expatriates also crippled the life of Ahmed Shareef. He has been since then unable to work and cannot return to his home country due to a travel ban that prevents him from leaving the Kingdom. To make matters worse, his residency visa (Iqama) has expired, further complicating his situation.
“My life was good, I was selling water bottles to grocery stores on a weekly credit basis, with the COVID-19 lockdown everything was ruined,” said the Hyderabadi man. Like numerous salesmen in Saudi Arabia, he claimed that he too faced the wrath of the employer in the aftermath of COVID-19, with an outstanding amount of SR 14,350.
“When many shops closed permanently and some ran into losses, they defaulted on payments and the same was informed to the company (employer), yet the company insisted on paying the amount,” he told Siasat.com.
Shareef’s job in Saudi Arabia was terminated along with over a dozen other salesmen, mostly Indians, and he was also ejected from his accommodation.
Since he failed to pay the due amount, he was dragged to court which ordered him to settle the payment and slapped a travel ban. His Iqama also expired thus making him an illegal resident of Saudi Arabia, barring him from everything, from medical consultations to jobs. Entangled in a series of legal and personal issues, the Hyderabad man’s life became miserable.
“I went to the head office in Riyadh, which is 1272 kilometres from Tabuk, to explain my condition and urged for some consideration. I pleaded with the company to reinstate so I can work, and they can recover all outstanding amount yet to no avail,” he lamented.
Touched by his plight, four young men from Hyderabad in Riyadh gave him shelter to stay and in turn, he cooked food for them. When their wives joined, he was forced to leave the place and return to Tabuk. Distressed and despairing, Ahmed Shareef has been cursing his situation.
It has been nearly seven years since Ahmed hasn’t travelled home and he dreams of meeting his only daughter who was forced to discontinue her studies due to lack of money in Saudi Arabia. Ahmed’s plight has come to light after he was spotted at a fuel station in Tabuk by the president of Saudi Arabia Telugu Association (SATA), Tabuk, L Tirupati.
“It’s a matter of humanity, not caste or creed or place,” said Tirupati who hails from temple town Vemulawada. Srinivas Jagramudi and Dr Suresh among others in the forefront of helping Ahmed Sharif, according to him.
“We feel sorry for Ahmed Shareef, we are trying to help him within our limits in the ambit of local laws,” said Syed Rameez Raza, who along with others is helping the Hyderabad man. They added that any further information can be checked by calling 0558053137 or 0580160669.
Tabuk is the nerve centre for Saudi’s giga-project NEOM, a flagship development scheme, where some hundreds of Hyderabadis are working.
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