MARGAO: After toiling for over eight months without proper food, salary, medications, and facing a constant assault by officials, Chandrakant Sinari, a Goan working in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, managed to flee his work site and reach the Indian embassy at Riyadh.
In his ordeal he was helped by a Pakistani car driver who helped him flee his ‘tyrant’ Arabian employers and took him to Riyadh. Denied help there, he borrowed money from a Goan working there and managed to return to Goa and was reunited with his family on Wednesday.
The news of this resident of Gandhinagar, Sanvordem, having got stuck in Saudi Arabia was first highlighted by Herald some months ago. Herald caught up with Sinari on his return and spoke to him about his experience.
“It is because of the efforts of my wife and God’s grace that I have managed to reach back home,” said an emotional Sinari who was employed as a truck driver in Saudi Arabia and hoped to pay off his liabilities in Goa brought about by the mining ban.
Sinari had paid Rs 70,000 for the job and had signed a contract with a Margao-based company. When he reached Saudi Arabia he got a job as a truck driver at a salary of Rs 17,000.
Sinari said he was paid a salary for five months, and two other Nepali men and a man from Karnataka were working there without a salary. There was no proper shelter or food there and he developed a boil on his neck and was in pain.
“I informed my employer about my condition and requested him to relieve me to go back home, but he did not care,” he said. “We were not given salaries and were assaulted by them. They threatened to file police complaints and get us arrested if we complained or refused to work. Later, we were taken to the Yemen borders, which is over 1,700 kilometres away,” said Sinari.
He continued, “There was no water, no food and no room to stay. When we demanded our salary before resuming work, we were assaulted badly and were sent to Yemen and were forced to feed water to camels and goats.”
Sinari’s ‘akama’ (identity card) was taken from him. “Nobody entertained any of my requests as I did not have the ‘akama’. But I was determined to flee even though I was 1,200 kilometres from the embassy,” he said.
“I had only 400 Riyals left when a Pakistani car driver sympathised with my condition and took me to Riyadh by hiding me below the car seat. If I was caught without identity, I would have been arrested and left in jail to rot,” he explained.
Sinari had only carried his passport and other documents, leaving his luggage in the vehicle. He spent a night at a bus stand in Riyadh in a dark corner. Next morning, he called up a friend and went to the Indian Embassy, where he was asked to return after four days.
“My brother-in-law put me in touch with one of his friends there named Dawood, who took me to his room, gave me clothing and footwear, and later gave me money for my ticket and I flew back to Goa.”
