Two Indians slaving it out on Saudi camel farm

April 26, 2012

Camel

Chennai, April 26: Two Indian workers promised construction work in Saudi Arabia but sold as slaves to a camel farm owner are languishing without food in the desert there, say their family members in Tamil Nadu.

A. Muniasamy, 45, hailing from Ramanathapuram district and 44-year-old Jagabir Ali from Nagapattinam district have been stuck on a camel farm for the past three months with an expired visa.

“They are also being tortured, with no medication for their wounds. The farm is located in a remote place with the sea on one side and the desert on the other. The nearest market is around 50 km away from the farm,” G. Subramanian, executive director of Manitham, a human rights organisation told IANS.

Manitham has taken up the issue of the two Indians with the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking to IANS over phone, Prabhavathi, Muniasamy’s wife said: “I spoke to my husband a couple of days back. He said that food was a problem. We came to know that he had been sold to a camel farm owner soon after he went to Saudi Arabia.”

“I have bought you. And I cannot send you back to India. This is what the camel farm owner had told my husband,” Prabhavathi, mother of two said in a choking voice.

She said Muniasamy had worked abroad prior to their marriage and this is the first time he was cheated.

Subramanian said he got the information about the two Indian workers slaving it out in Saudi Arabia around 15 days back.

“We did cross check their case with people whom we know in Saudi Arabia and found it to be true,” he said.

Subramanian had sent a brief about the case of Muniasamy and Ali to T.C. Barupal, first secretary, Community Welfare at the Indian External Affairs Ministry in Riyadh.



“He has forwarded my email to another official, marking a copy to me,” Subramanian said.

Both the unfortunate victims had gone to Saudi Arabia, paying Rs.150,000 to Sofia Travels based in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu .

The agent guaranteed construction jobs in Riyadh and issued a validated 90 days visa from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the duo.



The two had boarded a flight to Saudi Arabia January 23.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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Agencies
April 2,2020

Ankara, Apr 2: Saudi Arabia on Thursday declared a 24-hour lockdown in all parts of Makkah and Medina cities as part of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

"The 24-hour curfew will be imposed in all parts of the cities of Makkah and Medina, with a ban on entry and exit from both cities," the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Twitter.

The lockdown starts from Thursday “until further notice.”

All commercial activities inside the residential neighborhoods of the two cities were also prohibited, except for pharmacies, food products stores, gas stations and banking services, the ministry said.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the virus has spread to at least 180 countries and regions, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Its data shows the number of confirmed cases worldwide have surpassed 962,900, with the death toll over 49,100 and more than 202,700 recoveries.

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News Network
April 2,2020

Dubai, Apr 2: A senior Saudi official urged more than 1 million Muslims intending to perform the hajj to delay making plans this year in comments suggesting the pilgrimage could be cancelled due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

In February, the kingdom took the extraordinary decision to close off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to foreigners over the virus, a step which wasn’t taken even during the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide.

Restrictions have tightened in the kingdom as it grapples with over 1,500 confirmed cases of the new virus. The kingdom has reported 10 deaths so far. The Middle East has more than 71,000 confirmed cases of the virus, most of those in Iran, and over 3,300 deaths.

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is prepared to secure the safety of all Muslims and nationals,” Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Banten told state television. “That’s why we have requested from all Muslims around the world to hold onto signing any agreements (with tour operators) until we have a clear vision.”

Saudi Arabia has barred people from entering or exiting three major cities, including Mecca and Medina, and imposed a nighttime curfew across the country. Like other countries around the world and in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has suspended all inbound and outbound commercial flights.

Each year, up to 2 million Muslims perform the hajj, a physically demanding and often costly pilgrimage that draws the faithful from around the world. The hajj, required of all able-bodied Muslims to perform once in their lifetime, is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and bring about greater humility and unity among Muslims.

Standing in Mecca in front of the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times daily, Banten also said the kingdom was already providing care for 1,200 pilgrims stuck in the holy city due to global travel restrictions. A number of them are being quarantined in hotels in Mecca, he said.

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