Desperate labourers seek death on roads

By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter

http://chatru.com/uae/index.php?topic=20461.0

mARCH 29, 2006

Dubai: Labourers desperate to make a fast buck are quite literally playing with their lives: they rush into speeding traffic on busy roads hoping their dependants will inherit the diya (blood money) if they are knocked down.

Following complaints about reckless pedestrians in certain areas in Dubai, Gulf News found that a handful of labourers were making a suicidal dash across the road, catching motorists unawares.

The labourers were seen crisscrossing the roads.

To understand what the labourers were up to, Gulf News tried to speak to the workers.

On being approached, all but one of the men fled.

Motiram, who was bold enough to reveal his story, said: "We are trying to get knocked down."

Motiram, an illegal Indian who is part of the floating labour population, added, "There is no point living in such a pathetic state. I had come here on a visit visa paying a large sum to an agent in India. I was unsuccessful in finding a good job and have been living hand-to-mouth for the last several months.

"The last time I spoke to my family was some three months ago."

Motiram said he learnt about the blood money rule from his colleagues while working as a daily wage earner.

"At first I was quite scared about getting knocked down by a vehicle. "I know only a couple of others who are attempting the same. I am desperate," he said.

Asked why he had not gone to the consulate and approached them for an emergency certificate, Motiram said: "I am ashamed to go back home empty-handed. I am already a burden for them. In order to repay the loan that I had taken for the visa, both my sisters are working as part-time maids in India. I am responsible for getting them in such a state of affairs," he said.

Motorists who spoke to Gulf News said they are often caught unawares by people jumping in front of their vehicles from nowhere. "It happened to me twice in a week near the Al Khaleej Centre. The labourers think of crossing the street no sooner than the traffic lights go green. It is frightening," said Reshma Khan, a Pakistani.

Philip Kurien, an Indian, said: "This thing goes on a lot in the busy Satwa street. I dread driving there especially in the evenings. I am sure they do that on purpose."

Umesh Patel, an Indian, said: "The men wait until the traffic signal turns green. It is so bizarre."

It is difficult 'to gauge the intention of people crossing the street'

Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, director, Dubai Traffic Department, said it is very difficult to gauge the intention of people crossing the street.

"What is the evidence here? I do not think that something like this is taking place. How is anybody to conclude on the intention behind a man or woman crossing a road? When an accident takes place it is thoroughly investigated by the police and only then a conclusion is reached," he said.

K.V. Shamsudheen, Chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, a UAE-based Indian organisation, said: "I have heard people talking about it. I have also come across people dashing across the street in peak traffic, in their desperation to get money.

"People taking such risks should know that they will end up disabled. We need to create awareness. It is a wrong idea that they have got, money cannot replace an individual."