Opportunists prey on ignorance of labourers

Dubai: Opportunists are preying on the ignorance of Indian labourers by tricking them into paying to have their amnesty application forms filled out.

They charge the workers Dh20, and in some cases up to Dh50 if he or she needs to be made aware of the documents that are needed to go with the forms.

This is happening despite the more than 10 dedicated centres operated by the Indian consulate to help amnesty-seekers.

Illegals

Some of these middlemen are themselves illegals or employees in small cafeterias and typing institutes and do not hesitate to trick gullible workers who are often reluctant to approach consulate officials.

One such person, Kishore Laxman who hails from the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, said that he has no qualms in taking money from illiterate labourers.

He said: "I help them. I am not forcing anyone to take my services. I do not consider what I am doing is wrong. Like everyone who comes here I too am making money."

People like Kishore are even seen paying visits to workers' accommodation in Jebel Ali and Sonapur. They have even been spotted loitering in front of hospitals in Sharjah and selling their services.

"Earnings depend on the number of clients we manage to attract. I am just a newcomer in this business. But the first day I earned Dh40 which is not bad at all," said Prabha Kumar, another "service provider".

Far away

A number of labourers who spoke to Gulf News said they were not aware of the places where the Indian consulate has opened dedicated centres to help amnesty-seekers.

Others who were aware of the centre's location said that they cannot afford travelling to those places from their accommodation.

According to an Indian consulate official, relevant information about these dedicated centres was published in the local and Indian media. Volunteers speaking various Indian languages are also available at these centres.

Gudgu Gopala, a labourer, said: "The consulate officials should have opened these amnesty centres near our accommodation."

He said he had heard about the centres on the radio. "But they did not tell us where they were located. I get all my queries answered by those who are helping us to get our amnesty forms filled."

Consulate operates a dedicated phone line from 9am to 5pm from Sundays through Thursdays. The phone number is 050-4293269.

The details of the Collection Centres and their contact telephone numbers are given below:

Dubai

Sharjah

Ajman

Ras Al Khaimah

Umm Al Quwain

Fujairah

The emergency certificate forms can be downloaded from the Indian consulate website

So all the numbers listed are mobile numbers? Not toll free? Fabulous - have the poor labourers who barely make enough money to survive think ten times before they make the call. Let us also not forget that this means only one person can get through to a number at a time.
Bimal
Dubai,UAE

It is sickening how some people are more interested in kicking each other off the small boat they're all in, instead of working together to gain a better standard of living for themselves as a whole.
Shezanne
Dubai,UAE