Don't bring restricted medicines to UAE, Indian workers told

Khaleej times
December 21, 2017

Dubai, Dec 21: Indian missions in the UAE have urged blue-collared workers to completely refrain from bringing medicines that are restricted in the UAE. Often Indian workers are detained for possession of illegal drugs, especially sleeping pills or painkillers, which don't have a prescription that has been attested by the UAE Embassy in India.

Speaking to a gathering of 400 workers, Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri urged them to take care of their health, keep their personal documents safe and register themselves on the e-migrate system, which would safeguard them from fraudulent visa agents.

He was speaking at the Petron Workers Accommodation in Dubai Investment Park on Tuesday. The event was organised by Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC) and was also attended by officials from the Indian Consulate and social workers.

"The Indian missions have the best interests of all Indian nationals in the UAE, we are here in the service of all Indians," the ambassador said. Suri also stressed that the Indian passport is a very valuable document, and they must keep it close at all times. Indian diplomatic missions visit various workers camps in the UAE every 10-15 days, according to Suri, where issues of labourers are addressed.

He also urged them to save the IWRC hotline number 800INDIA (80046342) on their phones and not avail visa services from unauthorised agents.

Restricted medicines

Social workers and IWRC volunteers stressed that the workers should cross-check the list of medicines that have restricted entry into the UAE on the Indian Consulate and Embassy websites.

Anish Choudhary, manager of IWRC, said: "Workers need to be educated about the risks of bringing medicines into the UAE. Often, labourers accept sealed boxes and packages from unscrupulous agents or unknowing family members. They must practise due diligence while accepting packages."

In an earlier interview with Khaleej Times, Consul-General of India to Dubai Vipul confirmed that as of mid-2017, there were 90 Indian nationals in Al Aweer Central Jail for drug-related cases. "We keep getting cases wherein Indians who come here get caught at the airport with restricted medicines," he said.

The UAE has a very strict, zero-tolerance anti-drugs policy and conducts thorough searches at airports using the highly sensitive equipment.

Vipul added: "It is very difficult to ascertain an exact number, as local authorities don't distinguish between drugs and medical cases. Furthermore, it is not just workers who have been detained; people in all segments of the society have been arrested for possession of illegal medicines, especially tramadol." A synthetic opioid painkiller, tramadol was among nearly 400 drugs the UAE banned in 2010 for their addictive nature.

Anish stated that men need to always take care of their luggage in airports and not accept bags and packets from unknown people. In case they want to bring medicines, they must get their prescription attested by the UAE Embassy in India. As part of the awareness drive, Anish also spoke to the workers about phone scams, financial scams, health and welfare and identity theft.

Kusum Dutta, a social worker at the event, said: "People who bring restrictive medicines are not aware that it is illegal, and could get them into legal trouble. They must especially refrain from carrying painkillers and sleeping pills."

Meanwhile, A Vidyarthy, manager of Petron Emirates Contracting and Manufacturing Co. LLC, said: "Our ambassador has explained several things to the labourers. Especially made them aware of their basic rights and encouraged them to come forward to discuss their problems."

Sumathi Vasudev, consul (consular and labour affairs), said: "We organise these awareness camps on a regular basis and our main intention is to raise awareness and inform workers that they can approach us, especially through the IWRC hotline and the app Madad (http://www.madad.gov.in/)."

Prescription drugs advisory

> A doctor's prescription should be carried along with any medication that is brought into the country. It is not permitted to bring more than three month's supplies of medicine, as per guidelines of the health ministry.

> Do also keep in mind that medicines can be carried in your checked in luggage, but if one needs medicines during the flight, they can be placed in the hand luggage, provided one has documentary evidence.

> The health and concerned entities in the country place the drug safety as a top priority and take a series of precautionary measures regarding any involvement in this type of crimes.

> The UAE health authorities also follow the warning circular updates issued by the world health agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency.

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News Network
July 23,2020

Beirut, Jul 23: The pandemic will exact a heavy toll on Arab countries, causing an economic contraction of 5.7% this year, pushing millions into poverty and compounding the suffering of those affected by armed conflict, a U.N. report said Thursday.

The U.N.'s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia expects some Arab economies to shrink by up to 13%, amounting to an overall loss for the region of $152 billion.

Another 14.3 million people are expected to be pushed into poverty, raising the total number to 115 million — a quarter of the total Arab population, it said. More than 55 million people in the region relied on humanitarian aid before the COVID-19 crisis, including 26 million who were forcibly displaced.

Arab countries moved quickly to contain the virus in March by imposing stay-at-home orders, restricting travel and banning large gatherings, including religious pilgrimages.

Arab countries as a whole have reported more than 830,000 cases and at least 14,717 deaths. That equates to an infection rate of 1.9 per 1,000 people and 17.6 deaths per 1,000 cases, less than half the global average of 42.6 deaths, according to the U.N.

But the restrictions exacted a heavy economic toll, and authorities have been forced to ease them in recent weeks. That has led to a surge in cases in some countries, including Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

Wealthy Gulf countries were hit by the pandemic at a time of low oil prices, putting added strain on already overstretched budgets. Middle-income countries like Jordan and Egypt have seen tourism vanish overnight and a drop in remittances from citizens working abroad.

War-torn Libya and Syria have thus far reported relatively small outbreaks. But in Yemen, where five years of civil war had already generated the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the virus is running rampant in the government-controlled south while rebels in the north conceal its toll.

Rola Dashti, the head of the U.N. commission, said Arab countries need to “turn this crisis into an opportunity” and address longstanding issues, including weak public institutions, economic inequality and over-reliance on fossil fuels.

“We need to invest in survival, survival of people and survival of businesses,” she said.

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News Network
April 27,2020

Riyadh, Apr 27: The government of Saudi Arabia has signed a SR995 million (approx. Dh972m) contract with China to provide Covid-19 tests for nine million people in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported that the decision came "as a result of a phone call made today (Sunday) between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chinese President Xi Jinping."

The contract includes providing necessary equipment and supplies, making available of 500 Chinese specialists and technicians who are specialised in performing tests, establishing six large regional laboratories throughout the Kingdom; including a mobile laboratory with a capacity of performing 10,000 tests per day. Saudi cadres will also be trained to conduct daily tests and comprehensive field tests, under the new agreement

The contract was co-signed by the National Unified Procurement Company and Chinese company Huo-yan Laboratories by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court, on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia, and Chinese Ambassador to the Kingdom Chen Weiqing, as a representative of the Chinese Government.

The contract is one of the largest contracts that will provide diagnostic tests for the novel Coronavirus.

Tests were also purchased from several other companies from the United States, Switzerland and South Korea, bringing the number of available tests to 14.5 million, covering around 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's population, SPA added.

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News Network
April 18,2020

Apr 18: Taking a strong notice of Islamophobia on social media, Princess Hend Al Qassimi, a member of the royal family of United Arab Emirates, called out a series of tweets by a user named Saurabh Upadhyay.

Upadhyay had posted tweets attacking Muslims over the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held in March in Delhi that led to surge of coronavirus cases cases in India. He also gave into rumours of muslims ‘spiting on food’ to spread the virus.

Princess Qassimi shared the screenshots of his tweets and warned that those engaging in racism and Islamophobia will have to pay penalty and will be made to leave UAE. Upadhyay has apparently deactivated his Twitter handle now.

Responding to his earlier posts, she though the ruling family of UAE is “friends with Indians”, his rudeness was “not welcome”.

“All employees are paid to work, no one comes for free. You make your bread and butter from this land which you scorn and your ridicule will not go unnoticed,” she wrote.

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