Duo stuck in Kuwait falls ill, but their return seems unlikely soon

While 10 of the 24 Indians stuck in Kuwait have been sent to a deportation jail there and are expected to be sent back to India in a month’s time, two of the remaining 14 kept in a shelter home are reportedly unwell and want to reach India soon. However, the officials from the Indian embassy in charge of the procedure to get these two people back to the country are unavailable, leading to a delay in the entire process, said sources.

The 14 people who are not in the deportation jail continue to remain in the Indian embassy shelter. Ms Shaheen Sayyed, an Indian residing in Kuwait and helping these people, told The Asian Age that one among the 14 awaiting deportation is unwell. “According to the embassy officials I am in contact with, one of the officials who could help quicken the procedure is on leave. The Indians in need of medical attention are only being supplied with basic medicines,” Ms Sayyed said. She added, “The ones in the shelter are neither allowed to move out of the place nor allowed to call their relatives.”

A few relatives of some of these people this newspaper spoke to also confirmed that they had had no communication from them for long.

A Union external affairs ministry spokesperson said, “The Indian government is doing its best to deport the people stuck there.”

On October 25, The Asian Age had reported that 24 people who went to Kuwait to work as drivers and gardeners a year ago ended up conducting domestic chores for their employers there. They want to come back to India, but have been stuck for more than four months in Kuwait since their sponsors have refused to part with their passports. The reason they wish to return is that they are not happy with their job profiles and salaries.