Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 21
"I used to earn about Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per month in India depending on the availability of work. In Iraq, my monthly savings are double the amount. That is why I am here” — this is how Bhupinder Kumar, a mason, belonging to Phagwara and presently stuck near Karbala (Iraq), replied when asked why thousands of Punjabis rush to strife-torn middle-east countries.
Sheer economics of survival and not a pursuit of a high life in developed countries drive them towards such countries. They claim to have gone there because of availability of jobs and higher pay. They insist that they should not be compared with Punjabis seeking emigration to developed countries for a better quality of life.
Hailing from middle to lower-middle class families and having matric or higher secondary certificates, these youths almost work and live in Iraq like migrant labourers from eastern states do in Punjab. They are mainly employed in construction sector as masons, electricians, plumbers, fitters and drivers. Women are mostly employed as nurses.
Enquiries made from those stuck in Iraq or their families reveal that they spent Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh to reach Iraq. Companies like AKG, Tariq Noor Al Huda and INTACH and others hire these youths through agents. Families do not reveal how much they paid to the agents but say the cost of getting a job in Iraq and Middle-East countries was not more than Rs 2 lakh.
Dharmabir Singh, another youth working with Bhupinder at a hospital construction site, near Karbala, said he earned about Rs 20,000 per month in Iraq as a mason whereas back home he could earn a maximum of Rs 8,000. "I save almost half of my wages here. We pay a price of living away from family and suffer alienation, but we would have starved to death had we not come here."
Gurmeet Singh works in a medical store in Batala. He earns Rs 3,000 per month whereas his elder brother Surjit who works as a waiter in a hotel in Arbil in Iraq earns about Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month.
"We don't have much land and are dependent on the earnings of our father, an ex-serviceman. We tried doing several jobs here after passing Class XII but were hardly able to make both ends meet. We then learnt about job opportunities in Iraq."
Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Arbil, Surjit said he did not want to return. "I will try to stay here as long as I can. What will I do in India? Back home, such work is considered menial. The Indian Government is now in trouble, trying to evacuate the trapped citizens in Iraq but it should also introspect why youths choose to work thousands of kms away from home."
Lure of earning big
Against an earning of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 in Punjab, youths manage to earn at least Rs 20000 to Rs 30,000 per month
Punjabi youths in Iraq claim to have gone there because of availability of jobs and higher pay
They are mainly employed in construction sector as masons, electricians, plumbers, fitters and drivers
Their families say they have spent Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh to send their kin to Iraq
Government’s tally: 514 stranded in Iraq
Chandigarh: The number of youths from the state stranded in Iraq on Saturday swelled to 514 with the control room set up by the government receiving more calls from relatives of such youths. Tota Singh, NRI Affairs Minister, said he had submitted a detailed report of the persons stuck in Iraq to the Ministry of External Affairs. He called upon the Central Government to arrange for their safe return as soon as possible. The minister said many from Iraq who had contacted the control room informed that they were safe, but wanted to return home. The district-wise list of the stranded persons: 36 from Gurdaspur, 15 SBS Nagar, 40 Jalandhar, 35 Patiala, 224 Hoshiarpur, 35 Kapurthala, 10 Ludhiana, seven Barnala, 37 Ropar, five Pathankot, 13 Fatehgarh Sahib, 39 Amritsar, three Bathinda, one Moga, eight SAS Nagar, three Tarn Taran, two from Faridkot and one Sangrur district.
1 comment:
it is a satire to these families . Look the number of people involved . No one can help them .very sad .
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