THE NATIONAL
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
23-08-09
Ramadan is the time that many give charity to the needy. Unfortunately, this is also the time when we are wasting so much food every day. Those who are working in the municipality are saying the rubbish bins are full of wasted food. When we waste valuable food, realise one fact: in our country there are thousands living without required food, and working in the extreme heat.
I have seen workers who reach the work site at 7.00am with some rice or roti and a few spoonfuls of lentils that hang in a plastic bag, exposed to the heat until they eat at the mid-day break. One can imagine the condition of that food when they eat! Before throwing away food, let us remember these poor people. If some one could collect the excess food in refrigerated vans and supply it to the labour camps, it would be a great help.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
ONLINE CAMPAIGN FOR FOREIGN FLIGHTS
Kozhikode: Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living in the Gulf nations have launched an online signature campaign requesting Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel to permit foreign airlines to operate services to and from the Calicut airport at Karipur.
Hundreds of people have responded to the petition posted by the UAE-based Pravasi Bandu Welfare Trust on www.petitiononline.com, a web site hosting petitions for responsible public advocacy free.
“The petition was posted at 3 p.m. on Saturday. We are receiving new signatures each minute,” K.V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the trust, said. He said the airport was made an international airport on February 2, 2006. However, no steps had been initiated to improve infrastructure.
The Airports Authority of India had provided a lighting system for the airport’s runway for the first time in India on recommendations of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation. The system had been in service for night operations since October 2003, Mr. Shamsudheen said.
A 15,000-sq.m international arrival terminal had been opened to passengers, similar to the modern, spacious international departure terminal that became operational on May 14, 2007. As many as 240 international flights operated from the airport a week. The annual number of international passengers was more than half a million, he said.
‘Cash cow’
The airport and its passengers had been a “cash cow” for Air India Express and Indian owing to the patronage of NRIs from the Gulf countries. So, these airlines decided that no other international airline companies should operate from the airport and share their profits.
Delayed flights and passenger abuse, both by airline and customs authorities, happened daily, Mr. Shamsudheen alleged.
Operators keen
Many foreign airlines, including budget ones, were eagerly waiting to operate services from the airport. The Centre had given permission for foreign airlines to land in Pune, Nagpur and Coimbatore airports, though these had only a few international passengers, flights and facilities.
He said the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation recently permitted Jet Airways to fly to a few Gulf destinations. But to protect the monopoly of Air India Express and Indian, the Ministry did not give the private airline permission to fly to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which had the largest Keralite population.
Lower fares
The fear of Air India and Indian that competition and low airfare would affect their business made no sense, as a study by the trust found that lower fares made expatriates fly more often, and the airlines would flourish. “We also feel that competition will improve services and benefit end users in a big way,” Mr. Shamsudheen said.
Hundreds of people have responded to the petition posted by the UAE-based Pravasi Bandu Welfare Trust on www.petitiononline.com, a web site hosting petitions for responsible public advocacy free.
“The petition was posted at 3 p.m. on Saturday. We are receiving new signatures each minute,” K.V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the trust, said. He said the airport was made an international airport on February 2, 2006. However, no steps had been initiated to improve infrastructure.
The Airports Authority of India had provided a lighting system for the airport’s runway for the first time in India on recommendations of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation. The system had been in service for night operations since October 2003, Mr. Shamsudheen said.
A 15,000-sq.m international arrival terminal had been opened to passengers, similar to the modern, spacious international departure terminal that became operational on May 14, 2007. As many as 240 international flights operated from the airport a week. The annual number of international passengers was more than half a million, he said.
‘Cash cow’
The airport and its passengers had been a “cash cow” for Air India Express and Indian owing to the patronage of NRIs from the Gulf countries. So, these airlines decided that no other international airline companies should operate from the airport and share their profits.
Delayed flights and passenger abuse, both by airline and customs authorities, happened daily, Mr. Shamsudheen alleged.
Operators keen
Many foreign airlines, including budget ones, were eagerly waiting to operate services from the airport. The Centre had given permission for foreign airlines to land in Pune, Nagpur and Coimbatore airports, though these had only a few international passengers, flights and facilities.
He said the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation recently permitted Jet Airways to fly to a few Gulf destinations. But to protect the monopoly of Air India Express and Indian, the Ministry did not give the private airline permission to fly to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which had the largest Keralite population.
Lower fares
The fear of Air India and Indian that competition and low airfare would affect their business made no sense, as a study by the trust found that lower fares made expatriates fly more often, and the airlines would flourish. “We also feel that competition will improve services and benefit end users in a big way,” Mr. Shamsudheen said.
New tax regime lures NRIs to capital markets
www.incometaxinfo.com
Kochi , July 15
WILL the differential tax regime introduced in the Union Budget for banks and capital markets, result in the flight of $33,248 million of NRI bank deposits to new havens in the Indian capital markets?
Reflecting the view of the new generation of NRIs in the Gulf, Mr Jose Mathew, Chartered Accountant with PSI Middle East, told Business Line from Dubai: "There has been a sea change in the attitude of the NRIs away from the stability and security of bank deposits to the high, yet speculative returns of the capital markets. With a perceptible surge in numbers of the investing community in the Gulf, Barjeel Geojit Securities had to shift their operations to a bigger trading hall within the same premises."
Mr K.V. Shamsudheen, Chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, based in Dubai was a lot more circumspect: "There has been a paradigm shift in the attitude of NRIs from bank deposits to capital market investments after the Budget. This could soon translate into affirmative inflows into the Indian capital markets. But it is going to be a slow process. The term deposits held in Indian banks will have to mature over the coming months and maybe years before the full impact of the shift in investment becomes evident."
Some stockbrokers felt that the new trend could bring greater liquidity to the Indian capital markets and even help alleviate the impact of the proposed turnover tax.
The NRI community though jubilant over the removal of long-term capital gains tax and steep reduction in the short-term capital gains tax is, however, deeply concerned over the imposition of income tax on NRI deposits. They are more averse to bureaucratic formalities such as the need for filing income tax returns on income from NRI bank deposits.
The Budget pronouncements have resulted in a corresponding surge in new accounts, which have been opened for capital market transactions as well as enquiries related to the capital markets and equity-based mutual funds among the Gulf NRIs. Almost 60 per cent of the NRI remittances come from the Gulf region.
Of these, 64 per cent are from an emerging affluent middle class, willing to explore new and innovative avenues, Mr Shamsudheen said. An online survey conducted by Pravasi Welfare Trust with a base of 1,00,000 NRIs has revealed the changing profile of NRI community seeking alternative investment avenues.
And the brokers in the country plan to capitalise on these changing NRI sentiment. Mr C.J. George, Managing Director of Geojit Securities, said: "The old generation of well entrenched NRIs who rose within foreign companies over the decades is over. The new breed of affluent, technically qualified and upwardly mobile NRIs have become a reality. They are more interested in the high returns of the capital markets and have no qualms in giving the low returns of bank deposits the go by. We will soon be launching an education campaign among these new converts to highlight the relatively low tax regime and immense opportunities in the Indian capital markets."
But people like Mr Jose Mathew need no convincing. "I have all along been investing in the Indian capital markets and the new tax regime will induce more people like me to shift their investments," he said. The banking community is also getting increasingly worried.
Mr A. Sethumadhavan, Chairman of South Indian Bank said, "The threat of a diversion from bank deposits to capital market may not be immediate. But it is real. The NRIs have a great sense of discomfort with Indian bureaucracy and some could even go to the extent of pre-closing their accounts in order to avoid filing returns."
Kochi , July 15
WILL the differential tax regime introduced in the Union Budget for banks and capital markets, result in the flight of $33,248 million of NRI bank deposits to new havens in the Indian capital markets?
Reflecting the view of the new generation of NRIs in the Gulf, Mr Jose Mathew, Chartered Accountant with PSI Middle East, told Business Line from Dubai: "There has been a sea change in the attitude of the NRIs away from the stability and security of bank deposits to the high, yet speculative returns of the capital markets. With a perceptible surge in numbers of the investing community in the Gulf, Barjeel Geojit Securities had to shift their operations to a bigger trading hall within the same premises."
Mr K.V. Shamsudheen, Chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, based in Dubai was a lot more circumspect: "There has been a paradigm shift in the attitude of NRIs from bank deposits to capital market investments after the Budget. This could soon translate into affirmative inflows into the Indian capital markets. But it is going to be a slow process. The term deposits held in Indian banks will have to mature over the coming months and maybe years before the full impact of the shift in investment becomes evident."
Some stockbrokers felt that the new trend could bring greater liquidity to the Indian capital markets and even help alleviate the impact of the proposed turnover tax.
The NRI community though jubilant over the removal of long-term capital gains tax and steep reduction in the short-term capital gains tax is, however, deeply concerned over the imposition of income tax on NRI deposits. They are more averse to bureaucratic formalities such as the need for filing income tax returns on income from NRI bank deposits.
The Budget pronouncements have resulted in a corresponding surge in new accounts, which have been opened for capital market transactions as well as enquiries related to the capital markets and equity-based mutual funds among the Gulf NRIs. Almost 60 per cent of the NRI remittances come from the Gulf region.
Of these, 64 per cent are from an emerging affluent middle class, willing to explore new and innovative avenues, Mr Shamsudheen said. An online survey conducted by Pravasi Welfare Trust with a base of 1,00,000 NRIs has revealed the changing profile of NRI community seeking alternative investment avenues.
And the brokers in the country plan to capitalise on these changing NRI sentiment. Mr C.J. George, Managing Director of Geojit Securities, said: "The old generation of well entrenched NRIs who rose within foreign companies over the decades is over. The new breed of affluent, technically qualified and upwardly mobile NRIs have become a reality. They are more interested in the high returns of the capital markets and have no qualms in giving the low returns of bank deposits the go by. We will soon be launching an education campaign among these new converts to highlight the relatively low tax regime and immense opportunities in the Indian capital markets."
But people like Mr Jose Mathew need no convincing. "I have all along been investing in the Indian capital markets and the new tax regime will induce more people like me to shift their investments," he said. The banking community is also getting increasingly worried.
Mr A. Sethumadhavan, Chairman of South Indian Bank said, "The threat of a diversion from bank deposits to capital market may not be immediate. But it is real. The NRIs have a great sense of discomfort with Indian bureaucracy and some could even go to the extent of pre-closing their accounts in order to avoid filing returns."
Twilight trade in human traffic nets millions for gangmasters
Twilight trade in human traffic nets millions for gangmasters
by Conrad Egbert
Saturday, 03 September 2005
Last week in Qatar, 400 Indian and Nepalese construction workers made history by holding the first strike since this type of industrial action was legalised last year.
It was a major turning point in the relationship between employee and employer in the local construction sector, and has ramifications for the industry throughout the Gulf.
The strike was also significant in that it brought the issue of labour racketeering into the media spotlight.
Story continues below ↓
advertisement
And it prompted the Indian government to draw up a
blacklist of 11 recruitment agents operating in Qatar, banning them from hiring Indian nationals. A further 30 companies were put on a watch list.
Many of the workers who downed tools last week were recruited by agents operating in Nepal and India, who extorted thousands of dollars from them in fees for placing them in jobs.
The trade in human traffic within the Middle East’s construction sector is now big business — worth millions of
dollars to the unscrupulous agents who prey on vulnerable workers, often from the rural villages of southern India, Nepal and Pakistan.
Many of these hopefuls sell their possessions and take out personal loans in order to pay the gangmasters used by agencies to supply sites in the Gulf.
The Indian embassy in Qatar is currently investigating a racket involving at least six firms alleged to have extracted around US $350 000 from 275 construction labourers looking for work in the country.
Most recruitment agencies based in the Gulf have overseas offices in India. These use individual gangmasters to hire workers for them on a commission basis.
“It’s no secret that there are illegal recruitment agents operating in India,” said KV Shamsudheen, chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Trust, a welfare organisation based in Sharjah.
“It’s like a mafia that is run by individuals. And in some cases they’re even connected to legal recruitment agencies that are sanctioned by the central government.”
Shamsudheen runs awareness programs in Kerala to help
educate illiterate workers who are often deceived by recruiters into believing they will earn vast sums on the building sites of the region.
“They don’t realise that what they earn is what they will
be spending. There is no sense in coming to Dubai to earn AED600 because when you deduct the charges against their salaries, you’d see that they earn more back home.”
Recruitment agencies in India are required to be licensed by the central government to operate legally, but individual unlicensed recruiters often end up hiring labourers for these agencies through personal contacts and networks.
Last year the International Labour Organisation (ILO) based in New Delhi conducted a survey on forced labour worldwide.
According to the report, 260 000 workers in the MENA countries were classified as ‘forced labour’ and 88% of these were exploited for private economic reasons.
“One reason why this is happening is because most of the workers who are hired by these agents are illiterate and so they sign contracts that they can’t read,” said a recruitment agent based in Dubai.
“Every agent has a sub agent in all areas where labourers can be hired from. An agency based in the Gulf would have a branch back in India, which would have individual contacts in different states of the country.
“But what people should really be careful about are individuals who are just con men trying to make a quick buck. They go out pretending they have jobs to offer, charge the workers in bulk and then vanish with all the money,” he said.
The case of the 400 construction workers in Qatar may
have made headlines last week, but it could be just the tip of the iceberg.
by Conrad Egbert
Saturday, 03 September 2005
Last week in Qatar, 400 Indian and Nepalese construction workers made history by holding the first strike since this type of industrial action was legalised last year.
It was a major turning point in the relationship between employee and employer in the local construction sector, and has ramifications for the industry throughout the Gulf.
The strike was also significant in that it brought the issue of labour racketeering into the media spotlight.
Story continues below ↓
advertisement
And it prompted the Indian government to draw up a
blacklist of 11 recruitment agents operating in Qatar, banning them from hiring Indian nationals. A further 30 companies were put on a watch list.
Many of the workers who downed tools last week were recruited by agents operating in Nepal and India, who extorted thousands of dollars from them in fees for placing them in jobs.
The trade in human traffic within the Middle East’s construction sector is now big business — worth millions of
dollars to the unscrupulous agents who prey on vulnerable workers, often from the rural villages of southern India, Nepal and Pakistan.
Many of these hopefuls sell their possessions and take out personal loans in order to pay the gangmasters used by agencies to supply sites in the Gulf.
The Indian embassy in Qatar is currently investigating a racket involving at least six firms alleged to have extracted around US $350 000 from 275 construction labourers looking for work in the country.
Most recruitment agencies based in the Gulf have overseas offices in India. These use individual gangmasters to hire workers for them on a commission basis.
“It’s no secret that there are illegal recruitment agents operating in India,” said KV Shamsudheen, chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Trust, a welfare organisation based in Sharjah.
“It’s like a mafia that is run by individuals. And in some cases they’re even connected to legal recruitment agencies that are sanctioned by the central government.”
Shamsudheen runs awareness programs in Kerala to help
educate illiterate workers who are often deceived by recruiters into believing they will earn vast sums on the building sites of the region.
“They don’t realise that what they earn is what they will
be spending. There is no sense in coming to Dubai to earn AED600 because when you deduct the charges against their salaries, you’d see that they earn more back home.”
Recruitment agencies in India are required to be licensed by the central government to operate legally, but individual unlicensed recruiters often end up hiring labourers for these agencies through personal contacts and networks.
Last year the International Labour Organisation (ILO) based in New Delhi conducted a survey on forced labour worldwide.
According to the report, 260 000 workers in the MENA countries were classified as ‘forced labour’ and 88% of these were exploited for private economic reasons.
“One reason why this is happening is because most of the workers who are hired by these agents are illiterate and so they sign contracts that they can’t read,” said a recruitment agent based in Dubai.
“Every agent has a sub agent in all areas where labourers can be hired from. An agency based in the Gulf would have a branch back in India, which would have individual contacts in different states of the country.
“But what people should really be careful about are individuals who are just con men trying to make a quick buck. They go out pretending they have jobs to offer, charge the workers in bulk and then vanish with all the money,” he said.
The case of the 400 construction workers in Qatar may
have made headlines last week, but it could be just the tip of the iceberg.
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."
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."
A REPORT ON PRAVASI BANDHU ACTIVITIES IN JAPAN'S NEWS PAPER
天堂离棕榈岛很远
http://dycj.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=40740290
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曾经被宣传为“世界第八大奇迹”的迪拜人造岛屿“棕榈岛”，如今正被一些先期入住的居民抱怨为“世界第八大错误”
酝酿成形一个梦想需要很多年，证明它不完美却轻而易举。在迪拜，人工围垦而成的“珠美拉棕榈岛”（The Palm Jumeirah）刚刚浮出水面，先期入住的人们就带来了不好的消息。酷热、拥挤和昂贵如今阴霾一般漂浮在这个水中胜地上方。这一切，一手推动棕榈岛建设的迪拜王室显然没有预想到。
将为迪拜延伸520公里海岸线的棕榈三岛，建成后将成为世界第三大人工岛屿。它被迪拜酋长称为“世界第八大奇迹”，早在上世纪90年代便已出现在当权者的脑海中。经过5年规划，2001年，迪拜人正式向蓝色海洋进军。
如今，无论在照片中，还是从空中俯瞰这三个树状的沙地及建筑其上的房屋，都能隐约感觉“世界第八大奇迹”的美妙壮观。2006年末，三岛中最小的珠美拉棕榈岛上部分别墅建成，一批“棕榈岛先锋”纷纷入住，吹起海风看起海浪来。然而，随着贝克汉姆买下此处一幢别墅的噱头变得乏味，4英里可达海滩的新鲜感逐渐凋零，生活在“第八大奇迹”的神话已显得不那么美好。现在，4000名居民正开始与阿拉伯海湾酷热的气候较劲。此处夏季最高温可达48摄氏度、湿度很高，远远超过蜂拥而至的居民原先的浪漫想象。
一年多前，一批英国人首先挥别他们日光萎靡的家乡，前来拥抱棕榈岛的灿烂光芒。紧接着是俄罗斯人，随后，是越来越多的伊朗富人。确实，棕榈岛有它处难企及的美好：“棕榈树叶”蜿蜒入海，清澈的海水轻轻盖上平坦的沙地，阳光充裕，寄生蟹和鱼类品种繁多，一周两次，海岸修饰如新。你只要远离尚在开发中、四年后才能正式投入运营的区域，这海洋中央的生活便难以让人置信地平和安宁。
它的尺寸、它的阳光也许是最吸引初来乍到者的地方。象征棕榈树的17片枝叶，每一片都有一里长，主干道则为八车道的汽车高速公路。目前，大约40家宾馆正在防浪堤上建设，岛屿以后还将进一步扩展。
但是，对于一年前从英国举家搬到一片“棕榈叶”上的豪华别墅的42岁策展人瑞切尔·瓦尔德斯（Rachael Wilds）来说，一切都不是她想象的模样。她花300万英镑购置的房产紧紧挨着邻居的房子，毗邻一块贫瘠、寸草不生的土地。“完全不是小册子上写的那样。”她不停抱怨，“在别墅区和青葱繁茂的热带花园之间，有一条巨大的鸿沟。我们完全被别墅的狭窄拥挤吓坏了。”
蓝色海岸上，价值数百万英镑的别墅拥挤在一起。47岁的金融顾问拉斐尔·卡纳斯（Raffaele Cannas）是2006年末拿到钥匙的第一批居民之一，然后，一批人来参观他的小屋，然后，“我不知道谁是第一个，但知道，大卫·詹姆斯（David James）挤到了我前面的位置上，安迪·科尔（Andy Cole）占领了后面的。”搬进去仅仅18个月的卡纳斯如今只想着离开搬到新西兰去。“营销很有力，把棕榈岛形容成‘世界第八大奇迹’。于是，人们的期待被掀上了天。但它并非如此。”
由于天气燥热，很多地方尚在建设中，棕榈岛的环境时常很糟。如果没有大量灌溉，草地便很快枯萎，岛上最高的树则是一些移动电话发射塔——打扮得像是棕榈树的样子。而且，使用中央空调的价格并不在当初的购买价内，如今每月空调费用可达800英镑，许多居民正在为此斗争。不断出现的问题，让一些人更热衷于将棕榈岛称为“第八大错误”，而非此前的“第八大奇迹”。
还有一些人觉得良心难安。在建造棕榈岛最紧张的时候，约4万名雇员每天工作，将9400万立方米沙子和700万吨石头变成这个“适合21世纪以及之后的世纪的休闲生活胜地”。他们多数来自印度、孟加拉国，每天早晨，巴士将他们从沙漠中的劳动营运到棕榈岛。如今有证据表明，很多工人忍受着高强度工作，却只能获得很低的收入——大约每周只有25英镑。而且，许多人为了到达此地，已经欠出资运送他们的代理一笔钱。最近，迪拜一个劳工权利激进分子KV Shamsudheen说，借钱的利率可能高达每年120%。2006年，100名移民工人在酋长国（Emirates）自杀，目前自杀的工人数量还在上升。
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曾经被宣传为“世界第八大奇迹”的迪拜人造岛屿“棕榈岛”，如今正被一些先期入住的居民抱怨为“世界第八大错误”
酝酿成形一个梦想需要很多年，证明它不完美却轻而易举。在迪拜，人工围垦而成的“珠美拉棕榈岛”（The Palm Jumeirah）刚刚浮出水面，先期入住的人们就带来了不好的消息。酷热、拥挤和昂贵如今阴霾一般漂浮在这个水中胜地上方。这一切，一手推动棕榈岛建设的迪拜王室显然没有预想到。
将为迪拜延伸520公里海岸线的棕榈三岛，建成后将成为世界第三大人工岛屿。它被迪拜酋长称为“世界第八大奇迹”，早在上世纪90年代便已出现在当权者的脑海中。经过5年规划，2001年，迪拜人正式向蓝色海洋进军。
如今，无论在照片中，还是从空中俯瞰这三个树状的沙地及建筑其上的房屋，都能隐约感觉“世界第八大奇迹”的美妙壮观。2006年末，三岛中最小的珠美拉棕榈岛上部分别墅建成，一批“棕榈岛先锋”纷纷入住，吹起海风看起海浪来。然而，随着贝克汉姆买下此处一幢别墅的噱头变得乏味，4英里可达海滩的新鲜感逐渐凋零，生活在“第八大奇迹”的神话已显得不那么美好。现在，4000名居民正开始与阿拉伯海湾酷热的气候较劲。此处夏季最高温可达48摄氏度、湿度很高，远远超过蜂拥而至的居民原先的浪漫想象。
一年多前，一批英国人首先挥别他们日光萎靡的家乡，前来拥抱棕榈岛的灿烂光芒。紧接着是俄罗斯人，随后，是越来越多的伊朗富人。确实，棕榈岛有它处难企及的美好：“棕榈树叶”蜿蜒入海，清澈的海水轻轻盖上平坦的沙地，阳光充裕，寄生蟹和鱼类品种繁多，一周两次，海岸修饰如新。你只要远离尚在开发中、四年后才能正式投入运营的区域，这海洋中央的生活便难以让人置信地平和安宁。
它的尺寸、它的阳光也许是最吸引初来乍到者的地方。象征棕榈树的17片枝叶，每一片都有一里长，主干道则为八车道的汽车高速公路。目前，大约40家宾馆正在防浪堤上建设，岛屿以后还将进一步扩展。
但是，对于一年前从英国举家搬到一片“棕榈叶”上的豪华别墅的42岁策展人瑞切尔·瓦尔德斯（Rachael Wilds）来说，一切都不是她想象的模样。她花300万英镑购置的房产紧紧挨着邻居的房子，毗邻一块贫瘠、寸草不生的土地。“完全不是小册子上写的那样。”她不停抱怨，“在别墅区和青葱繁茂的热带花园之间，有一条巨大的鸿沟。我们完全被别墅的狭窄拥挤吓坏了。”
蓝色海岸上，价值数百万英镑的别墅拥挤在一起。47岁的金融顾问拉斐尔·卡纳斯（Raffaele Cannas）是2006年末拿到钥匙的第一批居民之一，然后，一批人来参观他的小屋，然后，“我不知道谁是第一个，但知道，大卫·詹姆斯（David James）挤到了我前面的位置上，安迪·科尔（Andy Cole）占领了后面的。”搬进去仅仅18个月的卡纳斯如今只想着离开搬到新西兰去。“营销很有力，把棕榈岛形容成‘世界第八大奇迹’。于是，人们的期待被掀上了天。但它并非如此。”
由于天气燥热，很多地方尚在建设中，棕榈岛的环境时常很糟。如果没有大量灌溉，草地便很快枯萎，岛上最高的树则是一些移动电话发射塔——打扮得像是棕榈树的样子。而且，使用中央空调的价格并不在当初的购买价内，如今每月空调费用可达800英镑，许多居民正在为此斗争。不断出现的问题，让一些人更热衷于将棕榈岛称为“第八大错误”，而非此前的“第八大奇迹”。
还有一些人觉得良心难安。在建造棕榈岛最紧张的时候，约4万名雇员每天工作，将9400万立方米沙子和700万吨石头变成这个“适合21世纪以及之后的世纪的休闲生活胜地”。他们多数来自印度、孟加拉国，每天早晨，巴士将他们从沙漠中的劳动营运到棕榈岛。如今有证据表明，很多工人忍受着高强度工作，却只能获得很低的收入——大约每周只有25英镑。而且，许多人为了到达此地，已经欠出资运送他们的代理一笔钱。最近，迪拜一个劳工权利激进分子KV Shamsudheen说，借钱的利率可能高达每年120%。2006年，100名移民工人在酋长国（Emirates）自杀，目前自杀的工人数量还在上升。
Charity Implores Indian Government Not To Tax NRI Deposit Accounts
Charity Implores Indian Government Not To Tax NRI Deposit Accounts
by Lorys Charalambous,
Tax-News.com, Cyprus
31 May 2004
A body representing the interests of Non-Resident Indians situated in the Gulf region is urging the government not to carry out its threat to tax income accruing from the deposit accounts of NRIs.
The Pravasi Bandhu Charitable Trust has written to Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in addition to other Members of Parliament, protesting the proposal by a Reserve Bank of India panel to remove the tax exemption from NRI deposits now that foreign exchange levels are healthy.
“Seeing the current situation, the Reserve Bank of India is proposing to tax interest income on NRI deposits. The Trust appeals (to) the prime minister not to tax interest income on NRI deposits," stated the charity, pointing out that many NRIS in the Gulf region exist on low incomes.
"We hope the new government will not take such a step which will be a major drain on the hard earned savings of the NRIs from the Gulf," the letter added.
K V Shamsudheen, the chairman of the Trust, also requested that the government extend the benefits of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements to NRIs living in the Gulf states of Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
.
by Lorys Charalambous,
Tax-News.com, Cyprus
31 May 2004
A body representing the interests of Non-Resident Indians situated in the Gulf region is urging the government not to carry out its threat to tax income accruing from the deposit accounts of NRIs.
The Pravasi Bandhu Charitable Trust has written to Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in addition to other Members of Parliament, protesting the proposal by a Reserve Bank of India panel to remove the tax exemption from NRI deposits now that foreign exchange levels are healthy.
“Seeing the current situation, the Reserve Bank of India is proposing to tax interest income on NRI deposits. The Trust appeals (to) the prime minister not to tax interest income on NRI deposits," stated the charity, pointing out that many NRIS in the Gulf region exist on low incomes.
"We hope the new government will not take such a step which will be a major drain on the hard earned savings of the NRIs from the Gulf," the letter added.
K V Shamsudheen, the chairman of the Trust, also requested that the government extend the benefits of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements to NRIs living in the Gulf states of Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
.
NRI investors' plea to RBI
FINANCIAL EXPRESS
Tuesday, 17 February , 2004,
A UAE non-resident Indian (NRI) welfare organisation has urged the RBI authorities to instruct the banks to issue consolidated inward remittance certificates (IRC) to companies to help NRI investors.
K.V. Shamsudheen, Chairman, Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, told Business Line that NRI investors were facing a serious problem when they apply for public issues and mutual funds. Companies offering IPOs and some mutual funds are insisting that an IRC be submitted along with payment and application. "Within the limited time of a public issue, obtaining an IRC from the bank by NRIs is impractical, time consuming and troublesome," he said.
He pointed out that NRIs are investing in public issues with NRI cheques issued by Indian banks or demand draft issued from abroad.
"NRI cheques have a different series and special marks and this enables the accepting bank to identify the payments are from an NRE account. Similarly, demand drafts purchased from abroad indicate that the money is from abroad," Shamsudheen said.
Tuesday, 17 February , 2004,
A UAE non-resident Indian (NRI) welfare organisation has urged the RBI authorities to instruct the banks to issue consolidated inward remittance certificates (IRC) to companies to help NRI investors.
K.V. Shamsudheen, Chairman, Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, told Business Line that NRI investors were facing a serious problem when they apply for public issues and mutual funds. Companies offering IPOs and some mutual funds are insisting that an IRC be submitted along with payment and application. "Within the limited time of a public issue, obtaining an IRC from the bank by NRIs is impractical, time consuming and troublesome," he said.
He pointed out that NRIs are investing in public issues with NRI cheques issued by Indian banks or demand draft issued from abroad.
"NRI cheques have a different series and special marks and this enables the accepting bank to identify the payments are from an NRE account. Similarly, demand drafts purchased from abroad indicate that the money is from abroad," Shamsudheen said.
Global crisis: Gulf Indians seek help
Global crisis: Gulf Indians seek help
Zee News
Dubai, March 03, 2009: A Gulf-based Indian charitable body has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to dispense financial assistance to Indian workers in that region returning home after the global economic meltdown.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Welfare Trust, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based charitable organisation working for the welfare of expatriate Indians, in its letter, appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure that an immediate assistance of Rs.100,000 each is provided to deserving workers who had to return after losing their jobs in the Gulf and admission granted to the children of such workers in Indian schools.
"The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is expecting an exodus of 500,000 Indian workers from various countries as a result of world economic recession," KV Shamsudheen, the trust chairman, wrote in his letter.
"Based on this, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs proposed a package of Rs.114 crore (Rs.1.4 billion) to (the) Finance Ministry which was rejected by the Finance Ministry. On behalf (of) non-resident Indians we strongly condemn the decision of the Finance Ministry."
A large number of Indians are among the thousands of expatriate workers in the Gulf who are reportedly leaving the region in the wake of the global economic meltdown, which cost them their jobs.
According to media reports and surveys, the once-booming construction sector in the Gulf is among those affected by the global crisis. A vast majority of expatriate Indians work in the construction sector in the region as contract labour.
In his letter, the trust chairman called upon the Indian government as well as state governments, to provide the following as rehabilitation package to those affected: an immediate assistance of Rs.100,000 to deserving Gulf returnees; prepare a data bank of Indian workers returning from abroad; order private and public sector companies to recruit from this data bank people who are found to be experienced, exposed to moderns technology and with special work culture; approach various counties which are not affected by the financial crisis and reach an agreement to recruit the Indian workers from the data bank of foreign experienced hands; and instruct schools in India to admit the children of the returnees.
"Most of the people returning from Middle East are unskilled workers, semi skilled and semi skilled workers with low wages. They are getting termination notice before they settle down. Majority had huge loan commitment at home and abroad," Shamsudheen wrote in the letter.
The letter, citing World Bank figures released in March last year, pointed out that Indian workers abroad sent home $27 billion in 2007 to make India the top receiver of migrant remittances.
"Thanks to Indian rupee exchange advantage in 2008 it went up to $32 billion. (The) Main source of this remittance is the lower and middle-income Indian workers in the Middle East with its estimated five million NRI workers," it stated.
"The NRI remittances are over three times the foreign direct investment (FDI) to India. We believe the Indian government must look after NRIs more than foreign investors," it added.
Zee News
Dubai, March 03, 2009: A Gulf-based Indian charitable body has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to dispense financial assistance to Indian workers in that region returning home after the global economic meltdown.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Welfare Trust, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based charitable organisation working for the welfare of expatriate Indians, in its letter, appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure that an immediate assistance of Rs.100,000 each is provided to deserving workers who had to return after losing their jobs in the Gulf and admission granted to the children of such workers in Indian schools.
"The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is expecting an exodus of 500,000 Indian workers from various countries as a result of world economic recession," KV Shamsudheen, the trust chairman, wrote in his letter.
"Based on this, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs proposed a package of Rs.114 crore (Rs.1.4 billion) to (the) Finance Ministry which was rejected by the Finance Ministry. On behalf (of) non-resident Indians we strongly condemn the decision of the Finance Ministry."
A large number of Indians are among the thousands of expatriate workers in the Gulf who are reportedly leaving the region in the wake of the global economic meltdown, which cost them their jobs.
According to media reports and surveys, the once-booming construction sector in the Gulf is among those affected by the global crisis. A vast majority of expatriate Indians work in the construction sector in the region as contract labour.
In his letter, the trust chairman called upon the Indian government as well as state governments, to provide the following as rehabilitation package to those affected: an immediate assistance of Rs.100,000 to deserving Gulf returnees; prepare a data bank of Indian workers returning from abroad; order private and public sector companies to recruit from this data bank people who are found to be experienced, exposed to moderns technology and with special work culture; approach various counties which are not affected by the financial crisis and reach an agreement to recruit the Indian workers from the data bank of foreign experienced hands; and instruct schools in India to admit the children of the returnees.
"Most of the people returning from Middle East are unskilled workers, semi skilled and semi skilled workers with low wages. They are getting termination notice before they settle down. Majority had huge loan commitment at home and abroad," Shamsudheen wrote in the letter.
The letter, citing World Bank figures released in March last year, pointed out that Indian workers abroad sent home $27 billion in 2007 to make India the top receiver of migrant remittances.
"Thanks to Indian rupee exchange advantage in 2008 it went up to $32 billion. (The) Main source of this remittance is the lower and middle-income Indian workers in the Middle East with its estimated five million NRI workers," it stated.
"The NRI remittances are over three times the foreign direct investment (FDI) to India. We believe the Indian government must look after NRIs more than foreign investors," it added.
The Sound Of Hope
Published: October 25, 2007, 11:54
The Sound Of Hope
Xpress News
October 25, 2007,
By Subramani Dharmarajan, Staff Reporter
For thousands of depressed Indian expats in the Gulf, he is a consoler and counsellor. He has been able to talk more than 100 people out of their suicidal tendencies.
K.V. Shamsudheen is popularly known as the Pravasi Bandhu(overseas relative) for these expats ever since he founded a welfare trust for overseas Indians six years ago.
"I was moved by the pathetic conditions of lower- and middle-income people who lacked financial resources for daily living after returning home despite working for decades in the Gulf," he said.
The Director of Barjeel Geojit Securities (LLC), which handles investment in Indian mutual funds for expat clients, Shamsudheen said his mission to help people in financial straits gives him a deep satisfaction.
"Helping the low-income earners is what moves me," he said.
"Financial crisis is the main reason for depression among Indians in the Gulf. Another factor is that they don’t get opportunities to talk about their problems as they are working 12 hours a day, travel for another four hours between home and the workplace and have to wake up early to get ready for the daily grind," Shamsudheen said.
While he advises people on the vital importance of making savings, he also motivates them to have a positive attitude to face challenges.
Every Monday morning he is at the Asianet studio in Media City to take calls from people for the Jeevatha Rekha (Lifeline) programme on the Malayalam radio channel. The theme is to encourage the saving habit.
"Ninety per cent of the callers admitted that they did not have enough savings despite working in the Gulf for 10 to 30 years," he said. So he advises them to make compulsory savings to create a fund which will take care of them after retirement.
"I advise them to just save Rs1,000 [Dh93] per month, which after 33 years with a 12 per cent compounded annual rate will yield them Rs5 million [Dh464,000]," he said.
Within five minutes of announcing his mobile number on radio, he gets an average of 26 calls. On Mondays, he gets an average of 500 calls during and after the programme. Calls continue to come in during the subsequent days.
He has been dispensing savings advice on the radio since 2001. He has also occasionally provided his advice to listeners for short-duration programmes on Radio Asia and Hit FM.
In early 2006, Shamsudheen started the Sandwanam (Console) programme to help depressed people – the helpline number is 050-646 7801.
The Sound Of Hope
Xpress News
October 25, 2007,
By Subramani Dharmarajan, Staff Reporter
For thousands of depressed Indian expats in the Gulf, he is a consoler and counsellor. He has been able to talk more than 100 people out of their suicidal tendencies.
K.V. Shamsudheen is popularly known as the Pravasi Bandhu(overseas relative) for these expats ever since he founded a welfare trust for overseas Indians six years ago.
"I was moved by the pathetic conditions of lower- and middle-income people who lacked financial resources for daily living after returning home despite working for decades in the Gulf," he said.
The Director of Barjeel Geojit Securities (LLC), which handles investment in Indian mutual funds for expat clients, Shamsudheen said his mission to help people in financial straits gives him a deep satisfaction.
"Helping the low-income earners is what moves me," he said.
"Financial crisis is the main reason for depression among Indians in the Gulf. Another factor is that they don’t get opportunities to talk about their problems as they are working 12 hours a day, travel for another four hours between home and the workplace and have to wake up early to get ready for the daily grind," Shamsudheen said.
While he advises people on the vital importance of making savings, he also motivates them to have a positive attitude to face challenges.
Every Monday morning he is at the Asianet studio in Media City to take calls from people for the Jeevatha Rekha (Lifeline) programme on the Malayalam radio channel. The theme is to encourage the saving habit.
"Ninety per cent of the callers admitted that they did not have enough savings despite working in the Gulf for 10 to 30 years," he said. So he advises them to make compulsory savings to create a fund which will take care of them after retirement.
"I advise them to just save Rs1,000 [Dh93] per month, which after 33 years with a 12 per cent compounded annual rate will yield them Rs5 million [Dh464,000]," he said.
Within five minutes of announcing his mobile number on radio, he gets an average of 26 calls. On Mondays, he gets an average of 500 calls during and after the programme. Calls continue to come in during the subsequent days.
He has been dispensing savings advice on the radio since 2001. He has also occasionally provided his advice to listeners for short-duration programmes on Radio Asia and Hit FM.
In early 2006, Shamsudheen started the Sandwanam (Console) programme to help depressed people – the helpline number is 050-646 7801.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Indians in Gulf debt trap commit suicide
Indians in Gulf debt trap commit suicide
CITIZENS ALLIANCE
July 29, 2008 — Colrama
Indians in Gulf debt trap commit suicide
Daniel P George | TNN
Chennai: The Gulf dream seems to have become a death trap for Indians, with 79 of them committing suicide this year alone in the UAE due to mounting debts. Most of the victims belonged to Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
‘‘In 2006, 109 people committed suicide. The number rose to 118 in 2007. This year, from January to June, 79 Indians have killed themselves,’’ Manish Kumar Sinha of the Indian consulate in Dubai told TOI. According to voluntary organizations working among the less fortunate in Dubai, as many as 23 of the victims belonged to TN. The rest were from Kerala and other states.
K V Shamsudheen, chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, said suicide among Indian expatriates has been on the rise since 2003. According to figures put out by the Indian consulate early this month, 40 suicide cases were recorded in 2003, 70 in 2004 and 84 in 2005.
‘‘On an average we get two calls a day from people who are severely depressed. In 75% of the cases, the depression is due to financial crisis which they are not able to share with others,’’ said Shamsudeen.
The Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust has formed another trust, named Sandwanam (consolation), with the aim to reduce suicides among Indians in the UAE.
DRIVEN TO DEATH
In ’07, 118 Indians in UAE committed suicide; the toll was 109 in ’06 .In 75% of the cases, the trigger is depression caused by financial burden. Under pressure from family to send home money, they incur loans.
While banks charge up to 8%, the interest rate is 30% on credit cards. Individual lenders charge 72% to 120% Family pressure leading to suicides
Chennai: The Gulf dream seems to have turned sour as 79 Indians, most of them belonging to TN and Kerala, ended their lives as they fell into vicious debt traps.
‘‘When a person arrives in a Gulf country, he is already in debt after spending money on visa and travel. And even before he can settle down, his family back home starts putting pressure on him to send money,’’ Shamsudheen said.
The main sources of debt, according to him, are bank loans, credit cards and individual illegal lenders. The interest rates vary. While banks charge up to 8% for loans, the rate can go up to 30% on credit cards. Individual lenders charge as high as 72% to 120%.
‘‘The family back home starts spending lavishly without considering the financial situation of the breadwinner,’’ said Shamshudeen. According to him, when people run out of money, their first option is to get a loan from the bank. When they can’t pay back the loan, they apply for credit cards. And when they reach their borrowing limit on the card, they turn to private lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates.
‘‘In some cases the minimum payment on credit cards is more than their monthly salary. Such cases are increasing by the day,’’ Shamsudheen added. The UAE is home to about 1.5 million Indian nationals. Construction workers account for the majority of the Indian migrant workforce, constituting 42.5% of the labour force.
CITIZENS ALLIANCE
July 29, 2008 — Colrama
Indians in Gulf debt trap commit suicide
Daniel P George | TNN
Chennai: The Gulf dream seems to have become a death trap for Indians, with 79 of them committing suicide this year alone in the UAE due to mounting debts. Most of the victims belonged to Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
‘‘In 2006, 109 people committed suicide. The number rose to 118 in 2007. This year, from January to June, 79 Indians have killed themselves,’’ Manish Kumar Sinha of the Indian consulate in Dubai told TOI. According to voluntary organizations working among the less fortunate in Dubai, as many as 23 of the victims belonged to TN. The rest were from Kerala and other states.
K V Shamsudheen, chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, said suicide among Indian expatriates has been on the rise since 2003. According to figures put out by the Indian consulate early this month, 40 suicide cases were recorded in 2003, 70 in 2004 and 84 in 2005.
‘‘On an average we get two calls a day from people who are severely depressed. In 75% of the cases, the depression is due to financial crisis which they are not able to share with others,’’ said Shamsudeen.
The Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust has formed another trust, named Sandwanam (consolation), with the aim to reduce suicides among Indians in the UAE.
DRIVEN TO DEATH
In ’07, 118 Indians in UAE committed suicide; the toll was 109 in ’06 .In 75% of the cases, the trigger is depression caused by financial burden. Under pressure from family to send home money, they incur loans.
While banks charge up to 8%, the interest rate is 30% on credit cards. Individual lenders charge 72% to 120% Family pressure leading to suicides
Chennai: The Gulf dream seems to have turned sour as 79 Indians, most of them belonging to TN and Kerala, ended their lives as they fell into vicious debt traps.
‘‘When a person arrives in a Gulf country, he is already in debt after spending money on visa and travel. And even before he can settle down, his family back home starts putting pressure on him to send money,’’ Shamsudheen said.
The main sources of debt, according to him, are bank loans, credit cards and individual illegal lenders. The interest rates vary. While banks charge up to 8% for loans, the rate can go up to 30% on credit cards. Individual lenders charge as high as 72% to 120%.
‘‘The family back home starts spending lavishly without considering the financial situation of the breadwinner,’’ said Shamshudeen. According to him, when people run out of money, their first option is to get a loan from the bank. When they can’t pay back the loan, they apply for credit cards. And when they reach their borrowing limit on the card, they turn to private lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates.
‘‘In some cases the minimum payment on credit cards is more than their monthly salary. Such cases are increasing by the day,’’ Shamsudheen added. The UAE is home to about 1.5 million Indian nationals. Construction workers account for the majority of the Indian migrant workforce, constituting 42.5% of the labour force.
Anger mounts among migrant workers
TAIPEI TIMES
Anger mounts among migrant workers
Dubai is booming, but the foreign laborers whose sweat is responsible for the gleaming highrises and luxury malls are growing increasingly frustrated -- and desperate
By Rory McCarthy
THE GUARDIAN, DUBAI
Saturday, Apr 01, 2006, Page 9
At the heart of a vast construction site in the center of Dubai is a cone-shaped building that is rising at the rate of one floor a week. When it opens in two years, the Burj Dubai -- the flagship among a dozen lavish building projects in this boomtown emirate -- will be the world's tallest skyscraper and home to a Giorgio Armani hotel.
Lawns and trimmed hedges surround the site, along with seductive advertisements for apartments that promise "a tribute to fine living."
A few kilometers out in the desert is the Dubai that the tourists never see: the labor camps that house the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who build these skyscrapers. There are no lawns, hedges or dreamy adverts. Laborers, most from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, trapped into working here by crippling debts, sleep eight to a room and work long shifts for paltry wages and with no job security. They spend hours on bus trips to the sites each day, frequently go for months without pay and are left penniless when contractors go bankrupt.
For the first time, years of accumulated frustration and resentment have now boiled over into a series of strikes and demonstrations. They began last September when 700 workers blocked a major road, complaining about poor salaries and bad conditions. That alone was remarkable in a country where public dissent is forbidden, and was a display of the mounting anger and despair among the migrant laborers.
At least eight other strikes and demonstrations followed at building sites across the emirate, culminating last week in a rare and violent protest at Burj Dubai. In one evening rampage, 2,500 workers downed tools and attacked security staff, broke into offices and smashed computers and files. They ran through the building complex damaging more than a dozen cars and construction equipment, and caused several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage. The next day, workers at the site and other laborers working on the international airport went out briefly on strike.
The protests are growing more organized, and for the first time are challenging the image of Dubai as a peaceful and prosperous hub of investment in the Middle East. Similar protests have sprung up among migrant workers in Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.
Quick money
"I had big dreams when I came to Dubai," said Umprakash, 30, an Indian from Rajasthan, who has worked as a laborer here for a decade. "But we're in a miserable condition."
Late one afternoon, he and a group of other workers in overalls sat on the concrete floor outside their small accommodation block in the al-Quoz industrial area of the city.
Although a university graduate, he struggled to find work in India and was lured to Dubai by promises of quick money. Like most others he was forced by a recruitment agency in India to buy his visa -- a US$2,300 cost that, legally, his employer should have covered. He raised the money by selling some land and taking out the only loan he could, with an interest rate of 36 percent. It took him the first five years just to pay it back.
Now he earns US$210 a month, the average for a worker here. He sends about half back to his wife and two children, whom he sees for just a few weeks once every two years. He could have earned the same in India. Like most of the workers, he promises himself he will leave soon, just as soon as he's made a little more.
"I've forgotten all of my studies. Now I just use a hand shovel. This is no life for educated people," he said. "I wish I'd never heard of Dubai."
Some are pushed into severe depression by their circumstances. Last year 84 workers committed suicide. The number who die on site in accidents is thought to be even higher, though there are no official figures.
"Once they reach here their families at home start demanding that they send back money. Everyone believes Dubai is full of money. These men are like a candle burning for somebody else," said KV Shamsudheen, an Indian businessman who runs Pravasi Bandhu, one of a handful of support groups.
Shamsudheen counsels workers over the telephone, trying to talk them out of their despair.
"We are dealing with just the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Technically, the labor laws in Dubai offer some protection to the workers: a day's shift should be only eight hours with overtime limited to two hours and paid at a higher rate; there should be medical care, proper housing, 30 days' annual holiday and employees should not be made to work during the searing midday heat in the summer.
"The workers agree the salaries in their own countries before they come out here," said Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Bakhit al-Jumairi, an interior ministry official who works on labor issues.
"Everything here is going smoothly and according to the labor laws," he said.
Outside the rules
But much of the labor law favors employers, and there are only a few dozen inspectors to monitor up to 800,000 construction workers.
Few companies keep within the rules, even though the government has begun to blacklist and publish the names of some of those who do not. Workers who complain fear losing their jobs.
Abdullah al-Mamun, 28, came from Bangladesh two years ago expecting to work as a skilled electrician, but was given a job as an unskilled laborer, for which the wages are lower. He earns US$150 a month, far less than he was promised before he left his home. He is also struggling to pay off the heavy debt he incurred buying his visa. His company gives him no holiday entitlement and it will take him three months to save the money for an air ticket home.
"The agents who hired us are exploiting us," he said. "It is completely unlawful. I made several complaints to our general manager, but nobody listens, nothing happens. I don't want to think about the state we are in."
Workers can complain as individuals, but trade unions and workers' associations are banned, and the country has still not signed important conventions of the International Labor Organization. This is symptom of a tradeoff across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- there may be an economic boom, but there are precious few political freedoms.
Everyone is encouraged to profit from heady economic growth, but no one is allowed to question the political leadership or the huge economic disparities. There are no elections and no opposition parties; freedom of speech is strictly controlled.
Buying allegiance
"There is no accountability and nobody questions the system because there are no political rights," said Mohammed al-Roken, a human-rights lawyer and the former head of the Emirates' Jurists Association. "The elites are buying the allegiance of their citizens."
Because of his criticisms, Roken has been banned indefinitely from writing in local newspapers, appearing on local television or continuing his job as a university law professor. His public speeches are frequently canceled at the last minute. He and others have lobbied for two years to set up the country's first human-rights organization, but have been refused permission.
Roken said the government was under mounting pressure to tackle its labor crisis.
"There must be a change, otherwise this might explode in the face of society," he said.
The UAE is now under pressure from the US in negotiations for a free-trade agreement, with Washington pushing for improvements to workers' negotiating rights.
"Without pressure from inside and outside the country, nothing will change," Roken said.
This story has been viewed 2559 times.
Anger mounts among migrant workers
Dubai is booming, but the foreign laborers whose sweat is responsible for the gleaming highrises and luxury malls are growing increasingly frustrated -- and desperate
By Rory McCarthy
THE GUARDIAN, DUBAI
Saturday, Apr 01, 2006, Page 9
At the heart of a vast construction site in the center of Dubai is a cone-shaped building that is rising at the rate of one floor a week. When it opens in two years, the Burj Dubai -- the flagship among a dozen lavish building projects in this boomtown emirate -- will be the world's tallest skyscraper and home to a Giorgio Armani hotel.
Lawns and trimmed hedges surround the site, along with seductive advertisements for apartments that promise "a tribute to fine living."
A few kilometers out in the desert is the Dubai that the tourists never see: the labor camps that house the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who build these skyscrapers. There are no lawns, hedges or dreamy adverts. Laborers, most from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, trapped into working here by crippling debts, sleep eight to a room and work long shifts for paltry wages and with no job security. They spend hours on bus trips to the sites each day, frequently go for months without pay and are left penniless when contractors go bankrupt.
For the first time, years of accumulated frustration and resentment have now boiled over into a series of strikes and demonstrations. They began last September when 700 workers blocked a major road, complaining about poor salaries and bad conditions. That alone was remarkable in a country where public dissent is forbidden, and was a display of the mounting anger and despair among the migrant laborers.
At least eight other strikes and demonstrations followed at building sites across the emirate, culminating last week in a rare and violent protest at Burj Dubai. In one evening rampage, 2,500 workers downed tools and attacked security staff, broke into offices and smashed computers and files. They ran through the building complex damaging more than a dozen cars and construction equipment, and caused several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage. The next day, workers at the site and other laborers working on the international airport went out briefly on strike.
The protests are growing more organized, and for the first time are challenging the image of Dubai as a peaceful and prosperous hub of investment in the Middle East. Similar protests have sprung up among migrant workers in Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.
Quick money
"I had big dreams when I came to Dubai," said Umprakash, 30, an Indian from Rajasthan, who has worked as a laborer here for a decade. "But we're in a miserable condition."
Late one afternoon, he and a group of other workers in overalls sat on the concrete floor outside their small accommodation block in the al-Quoz industrial area of the city.
Although a university graduate, he struggled to find work in India and was lured to Dubai by promises of quick money. Like most others he was forced by a recruitment agency in India to buy his visa -- a US$2,300 cost that, legally, his employer should have covered. He raised the money by selling some land and taking out the only loan he could, with an interest rate of 36 percent. It took him the first five years just to pay it back.
Now he earns US$210 a month, the average for a worker here. He sends about half back to his wife and two children, whom he sees for just a few weeks once every two years. He could have earned the same in India. Like most of the workers, he promises himself he will leave soon, just as soon as he's made a little more.
"I've forgotten all of my studies. Now I just use a hand shovel. This is no life for educated people," he said. "I wish I'd never heard of Dubai."
Some are pushed into severe depression by their circumstances. Last year 84 workers committed suicide. The number who die on site in accidents is thought to be even higher, though there are no official figures.
"Once they reach here their families at home start demanding that they send back money. Everyone believes Dubai is full of money. These men are like a candle burning for somebody else," said KV Shamsudheen, an Indian businessman who runs Pravasi Bandhu, one of a handful of support groups.
Shamsudheen counsels workers over the telephone, trying to talk them out of their despair.
"We are dealing with just the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Technically, the labor laws in Dubai offer some protection to the workers: a day's shift should be only eight hours with overtime limited to two hours and paid at a higher rate; there should be medical care, proper housing, 30 days' annual holiday and employees should not be made to work during the searing midday heat in the summer.
"The workers agree the salaries in their own countries before they come out here," said Lieutenant Colonel Rashid Bakhit al-Jumairi, an interior ministry official who works on labor issues.
"Everything here is going smoothly and according to the labor laws," he said.
Outside the rules
But much of the labor law favors employers, and there are only a few dozen inspectors to monitor up to 800,000 construction workers.
Few companies keep within the rules, even though the government has begun to blacklist and publish the names of some of those who do not. Workers who complain fear losing their jobs.
Abdullah al-Mamun, 28, came from Bangladesh two years ago expecting to work as a skilled electrician, but was given a job as an unskilled laborer, for which the wages are lower. He earns US$150 a month, far less than he was promised before he left his home. He is also struggling to pay off the heavy debt he incurred buying his visa. His company gives him no holiday entitlement and it will take him three months to save the money for an air ticket home.
"The agents who hired us are exploiting us," he said. "It is completely unlawful. I made several complaints to our general manager, but nobody listens, nothing happens. I don't want to think about the state we are in."
Workers can complain as individuals, but trade unions and workers' associations are banned, and the country has still not signed important conventions of the International Labor Organization. This is symptom of a tradeoff across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- there may be an economic boom, but there are precious few political freedoms.
Everyone is encouraged to profit from heady economic growth, but no one is allowed to question the political leadership or the huge economic disparities. There are no elections and no opposition parties; freedom of speech is strictly controlled.
Buying allegiance
"There is no accountability and nobody questions the system because there are no political rights," said Mohammed al-Roken, a human-rights lawyer and the former head of the Emirates' Jurists Association. "The elites are buying the allegiance of their citizens."
Because of his criticisms, Roken has been banned indefinitely from writing in local newspapers, appearing on local television or continuing his job as a university law professor. His public speeches are frequently canceled at the last minute. He and others have lobbied for two years to set up the country's first human-rights organization, but have been refused permission.
Roken said the government was under mounting pressure to tackle its labor crisis.
"There must be a change, otherwise this might explode in the face of society," he said.
The UAE is now under pressure from the US in negotiations for a free-trade agreement, with Washington pushing for improvements to workers' negotiating rights.
"Without pressure from inside and outside the country, nothing will change," Roken said.
This story has been viewed 2559 times.
ARBETAREN
TO READ A AN ARTICLE ON EXPATRIATE WORKERS PLEASE CLICK:
http://www.arbetaren.se/bilagor/dubai.pdf
KV Shamsudheen försöker informera om situationen i Dubai innan arbaterna hunnit resa dit. Högt ska det vara....................
http://www.arbetaren.se/bilagor/dubai.pdf
KV Shamsudheen försöker informera om situationen i Dubai innan arbaterna hunnit resa dit. Högt ska det vara....................
Sharjah to have Indian trade centre within 15 months
The Economic Times
19 Nov 2008, 1523 hrs IST, IANS
SHARJAH: A new Indian Trade and Exhibition Centre to promote Indian trade and business in the Middle Eastern and North African markets will come up
here within the next 15 months."The design for the building is ready and we hope to have the new trade centre open within the next 12 to 15 months," Sudesh Aggarwal, chairman of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) at Sharjah said at the council's annual business meeting here Tuesday night.
The new centre is being set up with approval from India's ministry of commerce and is aimed at promoting trade between this region and India. The IBPC, a recognised organisation representing the Indian business and professionals in Dubai, has signed an agreement with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to set up the centre.
Announcing the new trade centre in February this year, Aggarwal said: "Indian businessmen planning trade ventures here need not to worry about getting a local sponsor. We will sponsor them and even give them office space on a temporary basis till they get permanent office space." To be built on a 20,000 square feet area, it will comprise a basement and three floors with a total built-up area of 50,000 square feet.
It will have conference rooms, exhibition halls, office space, an auditorium, administrative offices, storage space and a restaurant. The centre will hold exhibitions of Indian products and services and host meetings, conferences and seminars for the Indian business and professional community and visiting delegations.
It will also lease office and exhibition space to Indian government enterprises and corporations, local companies providing services to the centre and provide information about Indian products and services.
At Tuesday's meeting attended by around 50 businessmen and professionals based in Sharjah, various issues of concern relating to Indian businesses in this emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also taken up for discussion.
Among the issues that came up were a new UAE law requiring all expatriate residents and nationals of this Gulf nation to have identity cards, visa procedures, licensing, setting up of businesses in Sharjah, customs duty, labour, cost of business in UAE, and free trade agreements between the Gulf and other parts of the world.
A panel comprising Aggarwal, IBPC vice-chairman K.V. Shamsudeen and IBPC governing body members-elect Hayat Yar Khan and Saju Augustine listened to the issues and decided to form a delegation that will present the issues to authorities concerned in Sharjah for action.
"A committee shall be formed in the due course and the concerns, problems and suggestions, raised by the Indian business community in Sharjah shall be put forward to the Sharjah government departments," Aggarwal said at the conclusion of the deliberations.
India is the top trade partner of the emirate of Sharjah with bilateral trade valued at $2 bn in 2007. According to figures released by the Sharjah Economic Development Department in June this year, India was followed by Japan at $953 mn and China at $626.2 mn.
Imports into Sharjah from India in 2007 stood at $1.8 bn, a rise of 5.9 per cent from the previous year. Exports, including re-exports from Sharjah to India, totalled $300 mn in 2007, a rise of 50 percent from 2006
19 Nov 2008, 1523 hrs IST, IANS
SHARJAH: A new Indian Trade and Exhibition Centre to promote Indian trade and business in the Middle Eastern and North African markets will come up
here within the next 15 months."The design for the building is ready and we hope to have the new trade centre open within the next 12 to 15 months," Sudesh Aggarwal, chairman of the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) at Sharjah said at the council's annual business meeting here Tuesday night.
The new centre is being set up with approval from India's ministry of commerce and is aimed at promoting trade between this region and India. The IBPC, a recognised organisation representing the Indian business and professionals in Dubai, has signed an agreement with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to set up the centre.
Announcing the new trade centre in February this year, Aggarwal said: "Indian businessmen planning trade ventures here need not to worry about getting a local sponsor. We will sponsor them and even give them office space on a temporary basis till they get permanent office space." To be built on a 20,000 square feet area, it will comprise a basement and three floors with a total built-up area of 50,000 square feet.
It will have conference rooms, exhibition halls, office space, an auditorium, administrative offices, storage space and a restaurant. The centre will hold exhibitions of Indian products and services and host meetings, conferences and seminars for the Indian business and professional community and visiting delegations.
It will also lease office and exhibition space to Indian government enterprises and corporations, local companies providing services to the centre and provide information about Indian products and services.
At Tuesday's meeting attended by around 50 businessmen and professionals based in Sharjah, various issues of concern relating to Indian businesses in this emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also taken up for discussion.
Among the issues that came up were a new UAE law requiring all expatriate residents and nationals of this Gulf nation to have identity cards, visa procedures, licensing, setting up of businesses in Sharjah, customs duty, labour, cost of business in UAE, and free trade agreements between the Gulf and other parts of the world.
A panel comprising Aggarwal, IBPC vice-chairman K.V. Shamsudeen and IBPC governing body members-elect Hayat Yar Khan and Saju Augustine listened to the issues and decided to form a delegation that will present the issues to authorities concerned in Sharjah for action.
"A committee shall be formed in the due course and the concerns, problems and suggestions, raised by the Indian business community in Sharjah shall be put forward to the Sharjah government departments," Aggarwal said at the conclusion of the deliberations.
India is the top trade partner of the emirate of Sharjah with bilateral trade valued at $2 bn in 2007. According to figures released by the Sharjah Economic Development Department in June this year, India was followed by Japan at $953 mn and China at $626.2 mn.
Imports into Sharjah from India in 2007 stood at $1.8 bn, a rise of 5.9 per cent from the previous year. Exports, including re-exports from Sharjah to India, totalled $300 mn in 2007, a rise of 50 percent from 2006
L’endettement, première cause de suicide chez les travailleurs indiens du Golfe
1/8/2008 à 15h02 par Tony Rajkumar
Poster un commentaire : Note moyenne : (2 avis)
De nombreux Indiens qui émigrent dans les pays du Golfe dans l’espoir de subvenir à leurs besoins et à ceux de leurs familles se retrouvent enfermés dans une spirale d’endettement. Désespérés, des dizaines d’entre eux choisissent de mettre fin à leurs jours.
Près d'1,5 millions d'Indiens travaillent aux Emirats Arabes Unis Le rêve de l'Eldorado se mue souvent en une réalité cauchemardesque pour les Indiens expatriés dans le Golfe. Aux Emirats Arabes Unis, 79 ressortissants indiens se sont donné la mort depuis le début de l'année, selon les chiffres du consulat d'Inde à Dubaï, publiés ce mois-ci. Le nombre de suicides chez les Indiens habitant aux Emirats Arabes Unis n'a cessé de grimper depuis cinq ans : de 40 en 2003 il est passé à 118 l'année dernière. Dans 75% des cas, ces actes sont motivés par des dettes insurmontables. "L'endettement est quelque chose de très courant chez les travailleurs indiens à bas et moyens revenus aux Emirats. Bon nombre d'entre eux ne peuvent même pas payer les intérêts sur leurs emprunts", affirme KV Shamsudheen, président de la Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, une association de soutien aux Indiens du Golfe.
Les Emirats accueillent la majorité des Indiens de la région. Plus d'1,5 millions d'entre eux y travaillent, pour la plupart dans les rangs des ouvriers du bâtiment, un secteur en plein essor dans le pays. Leurs conditions de travail sont souvent déplorables : "Ils sont exploités, leurs logements ne sont pas adéquats, les salaires restent dérisoires et sont rarement payés à temps", explique KV Shamsudheen. Et si le droit du travail existe, dans le pays, les ouvriers indiens ignorent souvent les démarches à entreprendre, ce qui provoque parfois des tensions. Le 10 juillet dernier, 3000 ouvriers, majoritairement des Indiens, se sont ainsi rebellés, pour protester contre leurs conditions de vie, sur un chantier de Dubaï, brûlant des voitures et passant à tabac leurs supérieurs.
Les Indiens s'expatrient généralement dans l'espoir d'un meilleur revenu, dont une grande partie est renvoyé à leurs familles, restées sur le sous-continent. Sans ressources financières ni gages matériels avant leur départ, ils n'ont par conséquent pas accès aux banques. Ils sont donc obligés de recourir à des prêteurs individuels, des "agents de recrutements peu scrupuleux", selon KV Shamsudheen, qui servent d'intermédiaire aux entreprises basées dans le Golfe. Promettant monts et merveilles, ces derniers exigent en contrepartie des intérêts exorbitants, allant de 70% à 120% pour financer le visa et le billet d'avion de l'intéressé.
Pris à la gorge avant même de s'être envolés pour le Golfe, les travailleurs indiens entrent alors dans un cercle vicieux d'endettement, prenant des prêts sur des cartes de crédits afin de rembourser celui contracté auprès de leurs "agents". Au final, ils doivent à nouveau recourir à des agents individuels afin de payer le tout. "J'ai rencontré plusieurs ouvriers qui avaient six, sept cartes de crédit et continuaient à emprunter pour s'en sortir !", affirme KV Shamsudheen.
Cette situation est aggravée par leurs proches, qui ont tendance à considérer, à tort, qu'expatriation est synonyme de réussite. "Dès lors que quelqu'un devient un Non Resident Indian (un Indien résidant à l'étranger, ndlr), sa famille ne pose pas de questions et dépense sans compter", déplore KV Shamsudheen, qui organise des séminaires à travers le Golfe pour sensibiliser les travailleurs Indiens à l'épargne et à "l'investissement systématique". Selon lui, seules 2% des familles indiennes épargnent la «remise » des expatriés.
L'augmentation du coût de la vie dans les pays du Golfe, en particulier aux Emirats Arabes Unis, et l'inflation qui frappe l'Inde ces derniers temps n'arrangent pas les choses. Les ouvriers expatriés ont moins d'argent à envoyer à leurs familles qui en réclament plus. L'Inde commence, notamment grâce à la Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, à prendre conscience de la détresse de ses citoyens expatriés dans le Golfe. Il est grand temps...
Comments:
kerpal a écrit le 1/8/2008 à 23h06 :
Human exploitation has unfortunately no limits and no frontiers. The problem lies mainly with corrupted recruiting agents and their associates (police, border patrol, employers, ...) on all sides . Good you highlighted the work done by the Trust and keep your excellent reporting on such matters to raise your readership awareness. Would be interesting if you get the views from both the exploiters and the exploitees.
Poster un commentaire : Note moyenne : (2 avis)
De nombreux Indiens qui émigrent dans les pays du Golfe dans l’espoir de subvenir à leurs besoins et à ceux de leurs familles se retrouvent enfermés dans une spirale d’endettement. Désespérés, des dizaines d’entre eux choisissent de mettre fin à leurs jours.
Près d'1,5 millions d'Indiens travaillent aux Emirats Arabes Unis Le rêve de l'Eldorado se mue souvent en une réalité cauchemardesque pour les Indiens expatriés dans le Golfe. Aux Emirats Arabes Unis, 79 ressortissants indiens se sont donné la mort depuis le début de l'année, selon les chiffres du consulat d'Inde à Dubaï, publiés ce mois-ci. Le nombre de suicides chez les Indiens habitant aux Emirats Arabes Unis n'a cessé de grimper depuis cinq ans : de 40 en 2003 il est passé à 118 l'année dernière. Dans 75% des cas, ces actes sont motivés par des dettes insurmontables. "L'endettement est quelque chose de très courant chez les travailleurs indiens à bas et moyens revenus aux Emirats. Bon nombre d'entre eux ne peuvent même pas payer les intérêts sur leurs emprunts", affirme KV Shamsudheen, président de la Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, une association de soutien aux Indiens du Golfe.
Les Emirats accueillent la majorité des Indiens de la région. Plus d'1,5 millions d'entre eux y travaillent, pour la plupart dans les rangs des ouvriers du bâtiment, un secteur en plein essor dans le pays. Leurs conditions de travail sont souvent déplorables : "Ils sont exploités, leurs logements ne sont pas adéquats, les salaires restent dérisoires et sont rarement payés à temps", explique KV Shamsudheen. Et si le droit du travail existe, dans le pays, les ouvriers indiens ignorent souvent les démarches à entreprendre, ce qui provoque parfois des tensions. Le 10 juillet dernier, 3000 ouvriers, majoritairement des Indiens, se sont ainsi rebellés, pour protester contre leurs conditions de vie, sur un chantier de Dubaï, brûlant des voitures et passant à tabac leurs supérieurs.
Les Indiens s'expatrient généralement dans l'espoir d'un meilleur revenu, dont une grande partie est renvoyé à leurs familles, restées sur le sous-continent. Sans ressources financières ni gages matériels avant leur départ, ils n'ont par conséquent pas accès aux banques. Ils sont donc obligés de recourir à des prêteurs individuels, des "agents de recrutements peu scrupuleux", selon KV Shamsudheen, qui servent d'intermédiaire aux entreprises basées dans le Golfe. Promettant monts et merveilles, ces derniers exigent en contrepartie des intérêts exorbitants, allant de 70% à 120% pour financer le visa et le billet d'avion de l'intéressé.
Pris à la gorge avant même de s'être envolés pour le Golfe, les travailleurs indiens entrent alors dans un cercle vicieux d'endettement, prenant des prêts sur des cartes de crédits afin de rembourser celui contracté auprès de leurs "agents". Au final, ils doivent à nouveau recourir à des agents individuels afin de payer le tout. "J'ai rencontré plusieurs ouvriers qui avaient six, sept cartes de crédit et continuaient à emprunter pour s'en sortir !", affirme KV Shamsudheen.
Cette situation est aggravée par leurs proches, qui ont tendance à considérer, à tort, qu'expatriation est synonyme de réussite. "Dès lors que quelqu'un devient un Non Resident Indian (un Indien résidant à l'étranger, ndlr), sa famille ne pose pas de questions et dépense sans compter", déplore KV Shamsudheen, qui organise des séminaires à travers le Golfe pour sensibiliser les travailleurs Indiens à l'épargne et à "l'investissement systématique". Selon lui, seules 2% des familles indiennes épargnent la «remise » des expatriés.
L'augmentation du coût de la vie dans les pays du Golfe, en particulier aux Emirats Arabes Unis, et l'inflation qui frappe l'Inde ces derniers temps n'arrangent pas les choses. Les ouvriers expatriés ont moins d'argent à envoyer à leurs familles qui en réclament plus. L'Inde commence, notamment grâce à la Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, à prendre conscience de la détresse de ses citoyens expatriés dans le Golfe. Il est grand temps...
Comments:
kerpal a écrit le 1/8/2008 à 23h06 :
Human exploitation has unfortunately no limits and no frontiers. The problem lies mainly with corrupted recruiting agents and their associates (police, border patrol, employers, ...) on all sides . Good you highlighted the work done by the Trust and keep your excellent reporting on such matters to raise your readership awareness. Would be interesting if you get the views from both the exploiters and the exploitees.
Shah of mascots
Indian Express
18 August, 2005
I hope Shah Rukh Khan will accept the government’s invitation to become the anti-smoking mascot for the Ministry of Health. If he takes on that responsibility, it may have a positive effect on millions of youths. Let us hope more celebrities will come forward to support similarly healthy causes.
— K.V. Shamsudheen
18 August, 2005
I hope Shah Rukh Khan will accept the government’s invitation to become the anti-smoking mascot for the Ministry of Health. If he takes on that responsibility, it may have a positive effect on millions of youths. Let us hope more celebrities will come forward to support similarly healthy causes.
— K.V. Shamsudheen
EMIRATES: Retirement readiness in UAE at par with global average of 13%
Retirement readiness in UAE at par with global average of 13%
.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates / Business24/7 / June 11, 2009
By Reena Amos Dyes
A combination of demographic, individual and financial elements is poised to derail people's retirement plans unless they start preparing for the same at the earliest, a global survey by HSBC Insurance has said.
The fifth annual Future of Retirement study titled "It's Time to Prepare", puts South Korea as the least prepared country and India as the best.
Even though the study has revealed that the preparedness gap in the UAE is at par with the global average in most areas, i.e. 87 per cent, the good news is that due to the UAE's youthful population profile – the average person is currently around 20 years old – it gives the UAE more time to plan, or what is often called a "demographic dividend".
The study shows that people's short-term survival strategies in the midst of recession are creating a serious long-term pensions' downturn deficit and that there is a continuing lack of pensions planning, even though people are aware that they are likely to live longer. This is being exacerbated by poor levels of financial understanding, education and access to advice and people are more concerned with protecting their possessions in the short-term than ensuring they can look forward to a financially secure retirement
According to the study, the consequence of these combined factors is that many people will struggle to make ends meet when they reach retirement, unless they urgently review their priorities and planning.
Stephen K Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc said: "A perfect storm is confronting pensions planning, created by an ageing population, falling pension funds values, a drop in state and employer contributions and an economic downturn which is forcing people to make tough financial choices." The study has identified a "preparedness gap" in people's pensions planning across the world with nearly nine out of 10 people not feeling fully prepared for their retirement.
The Future of Retirement survey questioned 15,000 people in 15 countries, including the UAE, making it one of the largest studies of its kind in the world.
Giving the break up on the preparedness levels of the people globally, Ishrat Kiyani, Regional Head of Wealth Management, HSBC Bank, Middle East, told Emirates Business: "South Koreans are the least prepared for retirement. The percentage of people who do not feel very well prepared for retirement is 58 per cent in India, 75 per cent in the United Kingdom, 83 per cent in Canada, 84 per cent in Saudi Arabia, 85 per cent in France, 86 per cent in the United States, 87 per cent from the UAE, 89 per cent in Turkey, 89 per cent in Hong Kong, 91 per cent in Singapore, 91 per cent in China, 92 per cent in Mexico, 94 per cent in Brazil, 97 per cent in Japan and 98 per cent in South Korea."
About the UAE, the study said that 87 per cent of people do not have any idea about what their retirement income will look like (this is in line with the global average of 87 per cent). About 13 per cent of people feel well prepared for retirement (this in line with the global average of 13 per cent), only 38 per cent of people feel they understand their short-term finances very well, while 19 per cent of the people surveyed understand their long-term finances very well (lower than the global average of 27 per cent).
Explaining why the UAE was lower than the rest of the world in its understanding of long-term finances, Kiyani said: "It is important to recognise that being prepared means very different things to different people across various regions.
"We have identified a large number of individuals across the world and the UAE who do not feel prepared for later life. These people may face financial hardship in later life if their standard of living drops below levels of their acceptibility.
"The report findings reveal the importance of the role of the individual and the need for personal responsibility in preparing for retirement. Yet the findings also show that families do not feel prepared and are only partially effective in taking charge of their retirement plans. This leaves a major preparedness gap, which is producing shortfalls in household provision. Often the most vulnerable groups are women and/or people in low income households who live in South America and Asia."
In terms of preparing for retirement the UAE sample revealed that 29 per cent of the respondents are in favour of increasing the retirement age (higher than the global average of 23 per cent).
Confirming the findings of the report, KV Shamsudheen, Director, Barjeel Geojit Securities, said: "I have been giving financial advise to people in the UAE for the past 39 years and despite the fact that people here are well-paid, they don't plan for the future. This is particularly true of the expatriates. Most of them spend all they earn here without any thought to their future and their old age. The result of this is that many of them go back to their home countries thinking that they will be able to lead a good life as they have worked in the Gulf for so many years but find that they can't afford to do it as they did not plan for the future, their old age and did not make any investments.
"I have surveyed as many as 10,000 expatriates and out of that only five per cent were able to lead a good life after retirement.
"Also when the expatriates send money back home their families don't save and the money is just spent on an improved lifestyle. Out of the 10,000 expatriates I surveyed, only two per cent said that their families back home were saving from their remittances," said Shamsudheen.
Stephen Green said: "The preparedness gap reveals that families need greater support and guidance to effectively handle their finances, not simply in schools and colleges but through 'trusted advisers' providing professional financial guidance.
"If people prepare adequately for the long term, an extended later life can present a golden opportunity for many – but now is the time for people to seriously consider boosting their pension contributions to improve their prospects of a comfortable retirement. The cost of procrastination is likely to be high," said Green.
The study also reveals that the UAE– like most of the countries in the world – is facing the challenge of an ageing population. By 2050 the number of dependent adults in the UAE will approach the number of dependent children. However, the good news is that the UAE's youthful population profile gives the country a "demographic dividend". The UAE has time to initiate plans to attract Emiratis to save for their retirement.
The report also reveals a parallel "advice gap" linking a lack of preparedness to insufficient financial education and guidance. According to it, 62 per cent have never accessed any form of general financial education (higher than the global average of 42 per cent) while 51 per cent have never sought any professional financial advice (higher than the global average of 46 per cent).
Khalid Alkadi, Deputy Regional Head of Insurance at HSBC Bank Middle East, said: "Now people have to understand, more than ever, that effective planning is the key to financial security. The results show that this is an area clearly neglected in the UAE.
"Getting good financial planning from trained and trusted professionals will go a long way in helping people make intelligent money decisions and cope with retirement and old age requirements," said Alkadi.
The study revealed that people are paying little attention to long-term considerations such as their likely retirement needs, focusing instead on purely practical short-term concerns which they understand better.
General insurance solutions – motor, travel, home and even pet insurance – are seen as a greater priority than addressing longer-term needs around insuring health or income, even when job security is in question.
The Future of Retirement survey shows that, as a result of the economic downturn 92 per cent of people have changed some element of their finances, while only 19 per cent will now retire as planned, 17 per cent are reducing retirement savings or stopping saving for retirement altogether, 18 per cent have used savings to pay off debt and nine per cent expect to delay their retirement.
Delving into the impact of the economic downturn in the Middle East, the study said that over the past 18 months the economic downturn has had a significant impact on people's finances as well as their attitudes, however, this impact has been less keenly felt in the Middle East.
The IMF expects the UAE to maintain healthy growth levels – around six per cent in 2009, followed by 5.6 per cent in 2010. Many of the respondents in the UAE agreed with this view and, overall, they were among the most optimistic in the global survey.
When viewing survival strategies adopted to cope with the global economic downturn, it is clear that large numbers in the UAE do not intend to make any changes to their finances. However, those who are adopting coping strategies are attempting to create a "buffer" of savings by reducing expenditure on both large and small purchases, whilst also paying debt.
Relatively few people are cutting back on retirement savings, reflecting the fact that fewer people are saving for retirement to begin with. Ten per cent said they would like to seek financial advice to help them make sense of the choices they have.
The UAE results revealed that more than 40 per cent of the people surveyed do not intend to make any changes to their finances (higher than global average of 21 per cent), six per cent of people have stopped paying into a pension plan (compared to 10 per cent globally), while 43 per cent of people believe that the economic downturn will last at least for one or two years. This is higher than the global average of 40 per cent.
Mark Twigg, Director at financial services consultancy Cicero Consulting, which undertook the survey for HSBC Insurance, said: "The report 'It's Time to Prepare' reveals the lack of understanding people have around their long-term retirement needs. They are not well educated or aware when trying to understand these needs and to act on them, than with their short-term requirements.
"As the economic 'perfect storm' looms, it is important that people are encouraged to understand long-term risks and to manage them effectively.
"While people are taking more responsibility for themselves, there is also a definite role for financial institutions to continue, and to build on, their work to educate and inform," said Twigg. [rc]
.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates / Business24/7 / June 11, 2009
By Reena Amos Dyes
A combination of demographic, individual and financial elements is poised to derail people's retirement plans unless they start preparing for the same at the earliest, a global survey by HSBC Insurance has said.
The fifth annual Future of Retirement study titled "It's Time to Prepare", puts South Korea as the least prepared country and India as the best.
Even though the study has revealed that the preparedness gap in the UAE is at par with the global average in most areas, i.e. 87 per cent, the good news is that due to the UAE's youthful population profile – the average person is currently around 20 years old – it gives the UAE more time to plan, or what is often called a "demographic dividend".
The study shows that people's short-term survival strategies in the midst of recession are creating a serious long-term pensions' downturn deficit and that there is a continuing lack of pensions planning, even though people are aware that they are likely to live longer. This is being exacerbated by poor levels of financial understanding, education and access to advice and people are more concerned with protecting their possessions in the short-term than ensuring they can look forward to a financially secure retirement
According to the study, the consequence of these combined factors is that many people will struggle to make ends meet when they reach retirement, unless they urgently review their priorities and planning.
Stephen K Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc said: "A perfect storm is confronting pensions planning, created by an ageing population, falling pension funds values, a drop in state and employer contributions and an economic downturn which is forcing people to make tough financial choices." The study has identified a "preparedness gap" in people's pensions planning across the world with nearly nine out of 10 people not feeling fully prepared for their retirement.
The Future of Retirement survey questioned 15,000 people in 15 countries, including the UAE, making it one of the largest studies of its kind in the world.
Giving the break up on the preparedness levels of the people globally, Ishrat Kiyani, Regional Head of Wealth Management, HSBC Bank, Middle East, told Emirates Business: "South Koreans are the least prepared for retirement. The percentage of people who do not feel very well prepared for retirement is 58 per cent in India, 75 per cent in the United Kingdom, 83 per cent in Canada, 84 per cent in Saudi Arabia, 85 per cent in France, 86 per cent in the United States, 87 per cent from the UAE, 89 per cent in Turkey, 89 per cent in Hong Kong, 91 per cent in Singapore, 91 per cent in China, 92 per cent in Mexico, 94 per cent in Brazil, 97 per cent in Japan and 98 per cent in South Korea."
About the UAE, the study said that 87 per cent of people do not have any idea about what their retirement income will look like (this is in line with the global average of 87 per cent). About 13 per cent of people feel well prepared for retirement (this in line with the global average of 13 per cent), only 38 per cent of people feel they understand their short-term finances very well, while 19 per cent of the people surveyed understand their long-term finances very well (lower than the global average of 27 per cent).
Explaining why the UAE was lower than the rest of the world in its understanding of long-term finances, Kiyani said: "It is important to recognise that being prepared means very different things to different people across various regions.
"We have identified a large number of individuals across the world and the UAE who do not feel prepared for later life. These people may face financial hardship in later life if their standard of living drops below levels of their acceptibility.
"The report findings reveal the importance of the role of the individual and the need for personal responsibility in preparing for retirement. Yet the findings also show that families do not feel prepared and are only partially effective in taking charge of their retirement plans. This leaves a major preparedness gap, which is producing shortfalls in household provision. Often the most vulnerable groups are women and/or people in low income households who live in South America and Asia."
In terms of preparing for retirement the UAE sample revealed that 29 per cent of the respondents are in favour of increasing the retirement age (higher than the global average of 23 per cent).
Confirming the findings of the report, KV Shamsudheen, Director, Barjeel Geojit Securities, said: "I have been giving financial advise to people in the UAE for the past 39 years and despite the fact that people here are well-paid, they don't plan for the future. This is particularly true of the expatriates. Most of them spend all they earn here without any thought to their future and their old age. The result of this is that many of them go back to their home countries thinking that they will be able to lead a good life as they have worked in the Gulf for so many years but find that they can't afford to do it as they did not plan for the future, their old age and did not make any investments.
"I have surveyed as many as 10,000 expatriates and out of that only five per cent were able to lead a good life after retirement.
"Also when the expatriates send money back home their families don't save and the money is just spent on an improved lifestyle. Out of the 10,000 expatriates I surveyed, only two per cent said that their families back home were saving from their remittances," said Shamsudheen.
Stephen Green said: "The preparedness gap reveals that families need greater support and guidance to effectively handle their finances, not simply in schools and colleges but through 'trusted advisers' providing professional financial guidance.
"If people prepare adequately for the long term, an extended later life can present a golden opportunity for many – but now is the time for people to seriously consider boosting their pension contributions to improve their prospects of a comfortable retirement. The cost of procrastination is likely to be high," said Green.
The study also reveals that the UAE– like most of the countries in the world – is facing the challenge of an ageing population. By 2050 the number of dependent adults in the UAE will approach the number of dependent children. However, the good news is that the UAE's youthful population profile gives the country a "demographic dividend". The UAE has time to initiate plans to attract Emiratis to save for their retirement.
The report also reveals a parallel "advice gap" linking a lack of preparedness to insufficient financial education and guidance. According to it, 62 per cent have never accessed any form of general financial education (higher than the global average of 42 per cent) while 51 per cent have never sought any professional financial advice (higher than the global average of 46 per cent).
Khalid Alkadi, Deputy Regional Head of Insurance at HSBC Bank Middle East, said: "Now people have to understand, more than ever, that effective planning is the key to financial security. The results show that this is an area clearly neglected in the UAE.
"Getting good financial planning from trained and trusted professionals will go a long way in helping people make intelligent money decisions and cope with retirement and old age requirements," said Alkadi.
The study revealed that people are paying little attention to long-term considerations such as their likely retirement needs, focusing instead on purely practical short-term concerns which they understand better.
General insurance solutions – motor, travel, home and even pet insurance – are seen as a greater priority than addressing longer-term needs around insuring health or income, even when job security is in question.
The Future of Retirement survey shows that, as a result of the economic downturn 92 per cent of people have changed some element of their finances, while only 19 per cent will now retire as planned, 17 per cent are reducing retirement savings or stopping saving for retirement altogether, 18 per cent have used savings to pay off debt and nine per cent expect to delay their retirement.
Delving into the impact of the economic downturn in the Middle East, the study said that over the past 18 months the economic downturn has had a significant impact on people's finances as well as their attitudes, however, this impact has been less keenly felt in the Middle East.
The IMF expects the UAE to maintain healthy growth levels – around six per cent in 2009, followed by 5.6 per cent in 2010. Many of the respondents in the UAE agreed with this view and, overall, they were among the most optimistic in the global survey.
When viewing survival strategies adopted to cope with the global economic downturn, it is clear that large numbers in the UAE do not intend to make any changes to their finances. However, those who are adopting coping strategies are attempting to create a "buffer" of savings by reducing expenditure on both large and small purchases, whilst also paying debt.
Relatively few people are cutting back on retirement savings, reflecting the fact that fewer people are saving for retirement to begin with. Ten per cent said they would like to seek financial advice to help them make sense of the choices they have.
The UAE results revealed that more than 40 per cent of the people surveyed do not intend to make any changes to their finances (higher than global average of 21 per cent), six per cent of people have stopped paying into a pension plan (compared to 10 per cent globally), while 43 per cent of people believe that the economic downturn will last at least for one or two years. This is higher than the global average of 40 per cent.
Mark Twigg, Director at financial services consultancy Cicero Consulting, which undertook the survey for HSBC Insurance, said: "The report 'It's Time to Prepare' reveals the lack of understanding people have around their long-term retirement needs. They are not well educated or aware when trying to understand these needs and to act on them, than with their short-term requirements.
"As the economic 'perfect storm' looms, it is important that people are encouraged to understand long-term risks and to manage them effectively.
"While people are taking more responsibility for themselves, there is also a definite role for financial institutions to continue, and to build on, their work to educate and inform," said Twigg. [rc]
Expats want more budget flights to Gulf
GULF TIMES
17 September, 2007
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala expatriates have called for more budget flights on the Gulf sector.“We appreciate the decision to permit Indian private airline Jet Airways to operate on the Gulf–India sector,” the Pravasi Bandhu Trust, an association of expatriates said.
“But the federal aviation ministry is yet to permit private airlines to operate flights to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Saudi airports,” Trust chairman K V Shamsudheen said.
Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of India’s flag carrier, offers fares as low as Rs6,000 for a one-way ticket to destinations in the United Arab Emirates, but during the peak summer season when most expatriates travel to India, the fares go up to more than Rs17,000.
“This is the way AI Express exploits the poor Indian workers in the Gulf who pump in precious foreign exchange into the country’s burgeoning economy. India encourages private participation and competition in all sectors except aviation,” Shamsudheen complained.
“The competition will bring down the fares and the passengers will get better service from the airlines. It will only help the country’s economy to grow and create more jobs,” he said.
The Trust wanted the Gulf-based budget airlines like Air Arabia, Al Jazeera and Sama and regular carriers like Al Etihad, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Emirates, Kuwait Airways and Gulf Air to be allowed to fly into all Indian airports including Kozhikode which caters to most of the low-income workers from Kerala.
“In a sample study we conducted among expatriate Indians, 90% said they would travel to India frequently to meet their families if the fares were affordable. They don’t want to bring their families since it’s too expensive now,” he said.
“So by reducing the fare, there won’t be any loss of revenue for the airlines and they will get more passengers and more profit. That makes more business sense,” Shamsudheen added.
The Federation of North Kerala Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNKCCI) also said foreign airlines should be allowed to start flights to Kozhikode. The passengers are having a harrowing time because of frequent delays and cancellations of Air India’s flights, it said.
“Recurring cancellation of flights has made Air India unreliable. Hence, the state-owned operator’s dominance has to be ended,” said M Muzammil, chairman of FNKCCI. The airport was accorded international status a year ago and an exclusive international terminal was opened for passengers two months back but the national carriers are said to be reluctant to allow competition for fear of losing the monopoly.
Jet Airways has been given permission to start flights on the Delhi-Kuwait, Thiruvananthapuram-Kuwait, Kochi-Kuwait, Kochi-Muscat, Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat, Kozhikode-Muscat, Mumbai-Doha, Kozhikode-Doha, Mumbai-Bahrain and Kochi-Bahrain sectors.
According to statistics, the Gulf sector accounts for at least 40% of international air traffic from India. Indian carriers on the Gulf routes are allowed a total of 85,481 seats per week: 21,950 seats from Dubai, 7,420 from Abu Dhabi, 10,206 from Sharjah, 8,000 from Kuwait, 10,892 from Qatar, 7,546 from Oman, 10,967 from Bahrain and 8,500 from Saudi Arabia.
But Indian carriers still have a huge unutilised capacity that the private airlines can now capitalise on. Air India earned Rs28.65bn in 2005-06 from the India-US route, while the India-Gulf sector contributed about Rs20.23bn.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said the airline would operate its Airbus 737-800s and 330-200s on these routes on a daily basis. The airline also plans to make Kochi its secondary hub.
Currently Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite - Air Sahara before its takeover - are the only private Indian airlines allowed to operate international flights. Jet already flies to Toronto, London, Kathmandu, Colombo, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Brussels.
17 September, 2007
By Ashraf Padanna
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala expatriates have called for more budget flights on the Gulf sector.“We appreciate the decision to permit Indian private airline Jet Airways to operate on the Gulf–India sector,” the Pravasi Bandhu Trust, an association of expatriates said.
“But the federal aviation ministry is yet to permit private airlines to operate flights to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Saudi airports,” Trust chairman K V Shamsudheen said.
Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of India’s flag carrier, offers fares as low as Rs6,000 for a one-way ticket to destinations in the United Arab Emirates, but during the peak summer season when most expatriates travel to India, the fares go up to more than Rs17,000.
“This is the way AI Express exploits the poor Indian workers in the Gulf who pump in precious foreign exchange into the country’s burgeoning economy. India encourages private participation and competition in all sectors except aviation,” Shamsudheen complained.
“The competition will bring down the fares and the passengers will get better service from the airlines. It will only help the country’s economy to grow and create more jobs,” he said.
The Trust wanted the Gulf-based budget airlines like Air Arabia, Al Jazeera and Sama and regular carriers like Al Etihad, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Emirates, Kuwait Airways and Gulf Air to be allowed to fly into all Indian airports including Kozhikode which caters to most of the low-income workers from Kerala.
“In a sample study we conducted among expatriate Indians, 90% said they would travel to India frequently to meet their families if the fares were affordable. They don’t want to bring their families since it’s too expensive now,” he said.
“So by reducing the fare, there won’t be any loss of revenue for the airlines and they will get more passengers and more profit. That makes more business sense,” Shamsudheen added.
The Federation of North Kerala Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNKCCI) also said foreign airlines should be allowed to start flights to Kozhikode. The passengers are having a harrowing time because of frequent delays and cancellations of Air India’s flights, it said.
“Recurring cancellation of flights has made Air India unreliable. Hence, the state-owned operator’s dominance has to be ended,” said M Muzammil, chairman of FNKCCI. The airport was accorded international status a year ago and an exclusive international terminal was opened for passengers two months back but the national carriers are said to be reluctant to allow competition for fear of losing the monopoly.
Jet Airways has been given permission to start flights on the Delhi-Kuwait, Thiruvananthapuram-Kuwait, Kochi-Kuwait, Kochi-Muscat, Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat, Kozhikode-Muscat, Mumbai-Doha, Kozhikode-Doha, Mumbai-Bahrain and Kochi-Bahrain sectors.
According to statistics, the Gulf sector accounts for at least 40% of international air traffic from India. Indian carriers on the Gulf routes are allowed a total of 85,481 seats per week: 21,950 seats from Dubai, 7,420 from Abu Dhabi, 10,206 from Sharjah, 8,000 from Kuwait, 10,892 from Qatar, 7,546 from Oman, 10,967 from Bahrain and 8,500 from Saudi Arabia.
But Indian carriers still have a huge unutilised capacity that the private airlines can now capitalise on. Air India earned Rs28.65bn in 2005-06 from the India-US route, while the India-Gulf sector contributed about Rs20.23bn.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said the airline would operate its Airbus 737-800s and 330-200s on these routes on a daily basis. The airline also plans to make Kochi its secondary hub.
Currently Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite - Air Sahara before its takeover - are the only private Indian airlines allowed to operate international flights. Jet already flies to Toronto, London, Kathmandu, Colombo, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Brussels.
GCC residency cap may force lakhs to return
THE HINDU
By Biju Govind
19 August, 2008 Kozhikode: Lakhs of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) employed in Gulf countries will have to return home if the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) brings in a rule on residency cap on foreign workers.
A recent meeting of Labour Ministers of GCC countries agreed in principle to go ahead with a proposal not to allow expatriate workers to stay in the countries for over five years. The decision would seriously affect lakhs of semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, K.V. Shamsudheen, Pravsai Bandhu Welfare Trust chairman, said here on Monday.
More than 25 lakh Keralites are employed in various sectors in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the largest number of expatriates, roughly eight lakh and seven lakh respectively. The total annual remittance is Rs.30,000 crore including Rs.22,000 crore transferred through banks in the State.
The GCC has drawn up such as proposal citing that the influx of foreign workers to the Gulf is leading to demographic imbalance in the oil- rich nations. However, the proposed rule will not affect professionals.
Mr. Shamsudheen, a UAE-based social activist, said that enforcement of the rule would dangerously hit the Indian communities, the working class in particular, who were already shouldering a heavy burden on account of the bad financial discipline. The debt of Indians had grown multi-fold in recent times and the issue was the major cause of suicide in the Gulf countries, he said.
According to a data released by the Indian Consulate, suicide cases among expatriate Indian is increasing every year. The number of suicides was 40 in 2003; 70 in 2004; 84 in 2005; 109 in 2006 and 118 in 2007. Over 60 per cent of them were Keralites.
Cases studies have shown that the cause of 75 per cent of the cases were depression connected to accumulated debt burden while 15 per cent of the cases were family related issues and 10 per cent on job-related stress.
Mr. Shamsudheen said that the cost of living had increased in Gulf countries. Besides, many of the Indians had landed in the Gulf after taking loans to pay recruitment agencies. A large number of NRIs also take loan from banks in the Gulf to satisfy the demand of families in the State.
Banks charge interest rates for loans at eight per cent and higher but for credit cards the interest rate is above 30 per cent. Loan sharks operating in the Gulf illegally also offered loans with an interest rate ranging from 72 to 120 per cent, he said.
Around 40 per cent of the Indians who were in jail were for crime related to “cheque bouncing” cases. The spending habit of expatriates and their dependents were taking a toll on the lives of low and middle-income groups in the Gulf, Mr. Shamsudheen said.
By Biju Govind
19 August, 2008 Kozhikode: Lakhs of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) employed in Gulf countries will have to return home if the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) brings in a rule on residency cap on foreign workers.
A recent meeting of Labour Ministers of GCC countries agreed in principle to go ahead with a proposal not to allow expatriate workers to stay in the countries for over five years. The decision would seriously affect lakhs of semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, K.V. Shamsudheen, Pravsai Bandhu Welfare Trust chairman, said here on Monday.
More than 25 lakh Keralites are employed in various sectors in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the largest number of expatriates, roughly eight lakh and seven lakh respectively. The total annual remittance is Rs.30,000 crore including Rs.22,000 crore transferred through banks in the State.
The GCC has drawn up such as proposal citing that the influx of foreign workers to the Gulf is leading to demographic imbalance in the oil- rich nations. However, the proposed rule will not affect professionals.
Mr. Shamsudheen, a UAE-based social activist, said that enforcement of the rule would dangerously hit the Indian communities, the working class in particular, who were already shouldering a heavy burden on account of the bad financial discipline. The debt of Indians had grown multi-fold in recent times and the issue was the major cause of suicide in the Gulf countries, he said.
According to a data released by the Indian Consulate, suicide cases among expatriate Indian is increasing every year. The number of suicides was 40 in 2003; 70 in 2004; 84 in 2005; 109 in 2006 and 118 in 2007. Over 60 per cent of them were Keralites.
Cases studies have shown that the cause of 75 per cent of the cases were depression connected to accumulated debt burden while 15 per cent of the cases were family related issues and 10 per cent on job-related stress.
Mr. Shamsudheen said that the cost of living had increased in Gulf countries. Besides, many of the Indians had landed in the Gulf after taking loans to pay recruitment agencies. A large number of NRIs also take loan from banks in the Gulf to satisfy the demand of families in the State.
Banks charge interest rates for loans at eight per cent and higher but for credit cards the interest rate is above 30 per cent. Loan sharks operating in the Gulf illegally also offered loans with an interest rate ranging from 72 to 120 per cent, he said.
Around 40 per cent of the Indians who were in jail were for crime related to “cheque bouncing” cases. The spending habit of expatriates and their dependents were taking a toll on the lives of low and middle-income groups in the Gulf, Mr. Shamsudheen said.
Be debt-free for financial security
Emirates Business 24/7
Be debt-free for financial security
Make a spending plan to keep your impulsive buys under check. (SUPPLIED)
By Reena Amos Dyes on Sunday, August 16, 2009
Many people go through life without any sort of financial planning and thought about saving.
They tend to spend impulsively and sometimes make huge decisions like buying a house or a expensive car at the spur of the moment, without suitable thought to the financial commitment it will need. Thus the result is debt, mortgages, car loans and mounting credit card bills.
The first step towards financial wellbeing is to get free of all the debt that has been accumulated in the past, because by doing this not only can you wipe the slate clean and make a new beginning. Early settlement of your debts will also lead to huge savings in terms of the interest you are paying for your impulsive buys. But it's not so easy.
KV Shamsudheen, Director, Barjeel Geojit Securities, told Emirates Business: "If you are one of those people who spend whatever they earn, then first you have to make up your mind that you are going to curb spending come what may. "For this, you have to get your family on board too as this decision to cut back on the lifestyle will affect them also.
"Once you have done that you need to decide how much you are going to save each month from your salary to pay off those debts and then tailor your life around it. That's the way it has to be done. If you decide to save whatever is left after you have met all your expenses, then that will not work well."
Once the decision to be debt free despite major lifestyle changes is made, then you can start by making a list of what you owe. Start with the biggest debt first, then make a list of the minimum monthly payment you are making for that loan and also the interest rate you are paying. By the end of it all you will have a clear idea of where you stand. The next step is to tighten your belt and pay off those loans one by one. It is a good idea to start with the smallest debts first as this will give you a sense of achievement and spur you towards the goal of being debt free.
Alternately you can also decide to pay off the loans with the highest interest first like your mortgage or your personal loans as this will result in savings in the huge amount you would have paid in interest.
If you are dealing with huge credit card payments then double the minimum monthly payment and stop using that credit card. Once you have paid off all the money for that card, notify the bank that you want to close the account. Don't keep that card as you might be tempted to use it again and the whole thing will start over.
Also, don't roll balances from card to card. This is a tempting way to make yourself believe that you're doing something about your debt problem, if only by lowering the interest rate you're paying. When those low introductory rates expire, you could be stuck with huge balances on high rate cards.
Next, make a spending plan to keep your impulsive buys under check. To do that, track the money that's coming in and going out.
Use your debit card instead of credit card as this way you will not be in danger of running up new debts as you can only use the debit card if you have money in your account!
It may be difficult at first but once you become debt-free then you can start planning for a better future.
Be debt-free for financial security
Make a spending plan to keep your impulsive buys under check. (SUPPLIED)
By Reena Amos Dyes on Sunday, August 16, 2009
Many people go through life without any sort of financial planning and thought about saving.
They tend to spend impulsively and sometimes make huge decisions like buying a house or a expensive car at the spur of the moment, without suitable thought to the financial commitment it will need. Thus the result is debt, mortgages, car loans and mounting credit card bills.
The first step towards financial wellbeing is to get free of all the debt that has been accumulated in the past, because by doing this not only can you wipe the slate clean and make a new beginning. Early settlement of your debts will also lead to huge savings in terms of the interest you are paying for your impulsive buys. But it's not so easy.
KV Shamsudheen, Director, Barjeel Geojit Securities, told Emirates Business: "If you are one of those people who spend whatever they earn, then first you have to make up your mind that you are going to curb spending come what may. "For this, you have to get your family on board too as this decision to cut back on the lifestyle will affect them also.
"Once you have done that you need to decide how much you are going to save each month from your salary to pay off those debts and then tailor your life around it. That's the way it has to be done. If you decide to save whatever is left after you have met all your expenses, then that will not work well."
Once the decision to be debt free despite major lifestyle changes is made, then you can start by making a list of what you owe. Start with the biggest debt first, then make a list of the minimum monthly payment you are making for that loan and also the interest rate you are paying. By the end of it all you will have a clear idea of where you stand. The next step is to tighten your belt and pay off those loans one by one. It is a good idea to start with the smallest debts first as this will give you a sense of achievement and spur you towards the goal of being debt free.
Alternately you can also decide to pay off the loans with the highest interest first like your mortgage or your personal loans as this will result in savings in the huge amount you would have paid in interest.
If you are dealing with huge credit card payments then double the minimum monthly payment and stop using that credit card. Once you have paid off all the money for that card, notify the bank that you want to close the account. Don't keep that card as you might be tempted to use it again and the whole thing will start over.
Also, don't roll balances from card to card. This is a tempting way to make yourself believe that you're doing something about your debt problem, if only by lowering the interest rate you're paying. When those low introductory rates expire, you could be stuck with huge balances on high rate cards.
Next, make a spending plan to keep your impulsive buys under check. To do that, track the money that's coming in and going out.
Use your debit card instead of credit card as this way you will not be in danger of running up new debts as you can only use the debit card if you have money in your account!
It may be difficult at first but once you become debt-free then you can start planning for a better future.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Trust Seeks Package for Gulf Returnees
Khaleej Times
Staff Reporter
12 March 2009 SHARJAH - The UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust has demanded political parties in India to declare a special package to rehabilitate the Gulf returnees.
In an open letter, the trust has also urged them to consider the case of non-resident Indians (NRIs) earning foreign currency on a par with exporters and offer them the same benefits enjoyed by exporters and those bringing foreign direct investment to the country. Chairman of the trust K. V. Shamsudheen said Indian expatriates working abroad sent home US$27 billion in 2007 to make India the top receiver of migrant remittances, according to a March 2008 World Bank report.
“Thanks to Indian rupee exchange advantage in 2008, it went up to US$32 billion. The main source of these remittances is the lower and middle income Indian workers in the Middle East with its estimated five million NRI workers,” the letter sent on Sunday pointed out.
“When five million Indians leave the country to work abroad, they are giving opportunity to provide jobs to the same number of people in India. The NRI remittances are over three times the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.
“We believe the Indian government must look after NRIs more than foreign investors. Foreign direct investors are getting a red carpet welcome and many incentives, but the NRIs are not getting any such incentives or support,” it added.
Staff Reporter
12 March 2009 SHARJAH - The UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust has demanded political parties in India to declare a special package to rehabilitate the Gulf returnees.
In an open letter, the trust has also urged them to consider the case of non-resident Indians (NRIs) earning foreign currency on a par with exporters and offer them the same benefits enjoyed by exporters and those bringing foreign direct investment to the country. Chairman of the trust K. V. Shamsudheen said Indian expatriates working abroad sent home US$27 billion in 2007 to make India the top receiver of migrant remittances, according to a March 2008 World Bank report.
“Thanks to Indian rupee exchange advantage in 2008, it went up to US$32 billion. The main source of these remittances is the lower and middle income Indian workers in the Middle East with its estimated five million NRI workers,” the letter sent on Sunday pointed out.
“When five million Indians leave the country to work abroad, they are giving opportunity to provide jobs to the same number of people in India. The NRI remittances are over three times the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.
“We believe the Indian government must look after NRIs more than foreign investors. Foreign direct investors are getting a red carpet welcome and many incentives, but the NRIs are not getting any such incentives or support,” it added.
Kerala govt urged to start thrift campaign
Kerala govt urged to start thrift campaign
By our correspondent
29 July 2007
TRIVANDRUM — The Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, a Dubai-based charitable trust working for the welfare of Indian expatriates working in Gulf counties, has urged the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to launch a campaign to create awareness among their kin in the country on the need for controlling expenses.
A Press statement issued by Trust chairman K.V. Shamsudheen at Calicut said this was the only practical solution to the crisis faced by the non-resident Indians on account of declining wages, rising living costs and the sudden appreciation in the value of Indian rupee. “The expatriates can lead a comfortable life when they return home only if they save a portion of their earnings. Unfortunately most of them are unable to save anything now due to reckless spending by their family members. Many even borrow money to meet the mounting demands from home,” Shamsudheen said.
Saving habit
He said that the campaign undertaken by the Trust in the Gulf had made the NRIs realise the need for cultivating a saving habit. Many of them are now ready to save a part of their earning for the future. The effort will succeed only if they get the cooperation of their family members,” he added.
Shamsudheen has urged the Kerala government to encourage unemployed youths to take up jobs available within the state instead of promoting migration. He said some of the jobs remaining without takers in the state were much more paying than what similar jobs fetch in some of the Gulf countries now.
“The youths are nurturing Gulf dreams because of the glittering pictures of Gulf life presented by the media. They are far from reality. A youth coming to Gulf after paying Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 for a visa will not be able to recover his cost under the present salary structure,” he said.
Many of the new job seekers are spending hefty sums on visa believing the false picture given by the recruiting agents about salary and working conditions. They fall into depression once they realise the realities.
Suicide cases
Shamsudheen has attributed the increasing incidents of suicide among Indian expatriates as a result of the depression and other mental problems. The suicide cases have been witnessing a steady increase year by year.
In 2004 there were 70 cases, in 2005 it increased to 84 and in 2006 it was 100. He says that the number was likely to go up in 2007 as the expatriates were grappling with many new problems.
Shamsudheen has urged the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry to conceive a campaign to cultivate a mindset for thrift and investments among the expatriates and their kin in collaboration with the state governments.
By our correspondent
29 July 2007
TRIVANDRUM — The Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, a Dubai-based charitable trust working for the welfare of Indian expatriates working in Gulf counties, has urged the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to launch a campaign to create awareness among their kin in the country on the need for controlling expenses.
A Press statement issued by Trust chairman K.V. Shamsudheen at Calicut said this was the only practical solution to the crisis faced by the non-resident Indians on account of declining wages, rising living costs and the sudden appreciation in the value of Indian rupee. “The expatriates can lead a comfortable life when they return home only if they save a portion of their earnings. Unfortunately most of them are unable to save anything now due to reckless spending by their family members. Many even borrow money to meet the mounting demands from home,” Shamsudheen said.
Saving habit
He said that the campaign undertaken by the Trust in the Gulf had made the NRIs realise the need for cultivating a saving habit. Many of them are now ready to save a part of their earning for the future. The effort will succeed only if they get the cooperation of their family members,” he added.
Shamsudheen has urged the Kerala government to encourage unemployed youths to take up jobs available within the state instead of promoting migration. He said some of the jobs remaining without takers in the state were much more paying than what similar jobs fetch in some of the Gulf countries now.
“The youths are nurturing Gulf dreams because of the glittering pictures of Gulf life presented by the media. They are far from reality. A youth coming to Gulf after paying Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 for a visa will not be able to recover his cost under the present salary structure,” he said.
Many of the new job seekers are spending hefty sums on visa believing the false picture given by the recruiting agents about salary and working conditions. They fall into depression once they realise the realities.
Suicide cases
Shamsudheen has attributed the increasing incidents of suicide among Indian expatriates as a result of the depression and other mental problems. The suicide cases have been witnessing a steady increase year by year.
In 2004 there were 70 cases, in 2005 it increased to 84 and in 2006 it was 100. He says that the number was likely to go up in 2007 as the expatriates were grappling with many new problems.
Shamsudheen has urged the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry to conceive a campaign to cultivate a mindset for thrift and investments among the expatriates and their kin in collaboration with the state governments.
Debts to death
KHALEEJ TIMES
2 August 2008
The number of suicides by Indians in the UAE has been increasing steadily since 2003, thanks debt traps they are falling in. The high cost of living and increasing financial commitments back home force expatriates to go for loans from banks, moneylenders, and credit cards, reports RIYASBABU
The Gulf dream of Indian expatriates is turning sour and sometimes deadly too. The good old days when one could come to the Gulf countries, make money, give a decent life to one's family and retire with contentment are over.
Now, an increasing number of Indian expatriates are falling into huge debt traps leading them to commit suicide.
For instance, 92 Indians committed suicide in Dubai and the Northern Emirates so far this year, according to an official of the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
The statistics available in the consulate reveal that 109 Indians in these emirates took the extreme step in 2006 and 118 in 2007.
The number of suicides by Indians, in fact, has been rising steadily — 40 in 2003, 70 in 2004 and 84 in 2005.
Indian expatriates have been flocking to the UAE since the 1970s when oil was struck and approximately 1.5 million Indians are living in the country now.
Social organisations blamed the financial institutions for trapping the less fortunate people by providing them credit cards and loans on easy terms and conditions.
K. V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Trust that launched an initiative called "Sandwanam" (Consolation) in 2006 to help the Indian expatriates get over depression and suicide tendency, said, "We are getting two calls on an average everyday from people who are in deep depression. As much as 75 per cent of the cases coming to us are of deep depression due to financial crisis and lack of opportunity to share their feelings to others." Most of the callers have taken loans in India to pay the recruiting agents. After coming to the Gulf, they are again forced to take loans from banks and private lenders and make purchases on credit cards, he said.
The research carried out by Sandwanam reveals that depression linked to accumulated debts was the main reason behind 75 per cent of the suicide cases. Fifteen per cent of the suicides were due to family issues and 10 per cent job-related stress.
"The low and middle income Indian expatriates in the UAE falling into debt traps have become quite common. A good number of Indians could not pay even the interest to the lenders. The main sources of loans is banks, credit cards and illegal lenders," said Shamsudheen.
The interest rates vary depending on the source of the loan. While the banks are charging up to 8-9 per cent, the credit card companies charge up to 30 per cent and private lenders anything between 72 per cent and 120 per cent.
"The spending habits of the expatriates and their dependents are playing a very important role. Once one person becomes a non-resident Indian (NRI), the family back home will start spending lavishly without considering the financial situation of the breadwinner," he pointed out.
"As the cost of living has increased drastically in the GCC countries over the last three-four years, they could save less. In the same period, the Indian rupee appreciated which meant the money they remit to India would fetch fewer rupees. Besides, the cost of living has gone high back in India too, forcing the families to demand more money from the hapless NRI. These are the three circumstances compelling them to take loans to meet the financial requirements," Shamsudheen said.
Joseph Bobby, a volunteer with the Valley of Love, another social organisation supporting people in distress in the UAE , also said the main reason behind most of the suicides by Indians in the country is financial crisis.
The cost of living has been increasing in the UAE day by day. However, the salaries remain the same. These make a lot of people struggle to make both ends meet. Financial institutions capitalise on this situation by providing such people with easy loans and credit cards which later trap them in a mountain of debts," he said.
2 August 2008
The number of suicides by Indians in the UAE has been increasing steadily since 2003, thanks debt traps they are falling in. The high cost of living and increasing financial commitments back home force expatriates to go for loans from banks, moneylenders, and credit cards, reports RIYASBABU
The Gulf dream of Indian expatriates is turning sour and sometimes deadly too. The good old days when one could come to the Gulf countries, make money, give a decent life to one's family and retire with contentment are over.
Now, an increasing number of Indian expatriates are falling into huge debt traps leading them to commit suicide.
For instance, 92 Indians committed suicide in Dubai and the Northern Emirates so far this year, according to an official of the Indian Consulate in Dubai.
The statistics available in the consulate reveal that 109 Indians in these emirates took the extreme step in 2006 and 118 in 2007.
The number of suicides by Indians, in fact, has been rising steadily — 40 in 2003, 70 in 2004 and 84 in 2005.
Indian expatriates have been flocking to the UAE since the 1970s when oil was struck and approximately 1.5 million Indians are living in the country now.
Social organisations blamed the financial institutions for trapping the less fortunate people by providing them credit cards and loans on easy terms and conditions.
K. V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Trust that launched an initiative called "Sandwanam" (Consolation) in 2006 to help the Indian expatriates get over depression and suicide tendency, said, "We are getting two calls on an average everyday from people who are in deep depression. As much as 75 per cent of the cases coming to us are of deep depression due to financial crisis and lack of opportunity to share their feelings to others." Most of the callers have taken loans in India to pay the recruiting agents. After coming to the Gulf, they are again forced to take loans from banks and private lenders and make purchases on credit cards, he said.
The research carried out by Sandwanam reveals that depression linked to accumulated debts was the main reason behind 75 per cent of the suicide cases. Fifteen per cent of the suicides were due to family issues and 10 per cent job-related stress.
"The low and middle income Indian expatriates in the UAE falling into debt traps have become quite common. A good number of Indians could not pay even the interest to the lenders. The main sources of loans is banks, credit cards and illegal lenders," said Shamsudheen.
The interest rates vary depending on the source of the loan. While the banks are charging up to 8-9 per cent, the credit card companies charge up to 30 per cent and private lenders anything between 72 per cent and 120 per cent.
"The spending habits of the expatriates and their dependents are playing a very important role. Once one person becomes a non-resident Indian (NRI), the family back home will start spending lavishly without considering the financial situation of the breadwinner," he pointed out.
"As the cost of living has increased drastically in the GCC countries over the last three-four years, they could save less. In the same period, the Indian rupee appreciated which meant the money they remit to India would fetch fewer rupees. Besides, the cost of living has gone high back in India too, forcing the families to demand more money from the hapless NRI. These are the three circumstances compelling them to take loans to meet the financial requirements," Shamsudheen said.
Joseph Bobby, a volunteer with the Valley of Love, another social organisation supporting people in distress in the UAE , also said the main reason behind most of the suicides by Indians in the country is financial crisis.
The cost of living has been increasing in the UAE day by day. However, the salaries remain the same. These make a lot of people struggle to make both ends meet. Financial institutions capitalise on this situation by providing such people with easy loans and credit cards which later trap them in a mountain of debts," he said.
Minister vows to end woes of air travellers
Khaleej Times
By our correspondent
29 December 2007 TRIVANDRUM — Federal Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel yesterday promised an end to the miseries of passengers at the Karipur international airport in north Kerala.
He made the promise in a letter to Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan after the latter informed about the difficulties faced by the passengers, especially the expatriates working in the Middle East, to his notice.
Patel has assured Achuthanandan that he would personally intervene in the issue. Air India chairman Thulsidas later rang up the chief minister and assured that he would take steps to improve the services of the national carrier.
Achuthanandan had taken up the matter with the minister in the light of the continuing clashes between passengers and airline officials over the frequent disruption in the services. The former said that the delay in the departure of flights from Karipur has been leading to loss of jobs to many.
The non-resident Keralites, who have come on leave, as well as fresh recruits have not been able to reach their destination before the expiry of their visa due to the inordinate delay in the departure of flights, he pointed out.
Achuthanandan blamed the indifferent attitude of Air India towards the passenger as the root cause for the problems faced by the passengers in the airport. He accused the national carrier of neglecting the passengers.
Gulf passengers believe that their woes would end only if the airport is opened to foreign airlines. They say that Air India and Indian have been exploiting passengers as they enjoy near monopoly.
Dubai-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust feels that the Civil Aviation Ministry was not giving landing right to foreign airlines fearing that it would lead to a dip in the revenue of Air India and Indian. Sri Lankan Airlines is the only foreign airline allowed to operate from Karipur at present.
Applications of several airlines, including Gulf Air, for landing right in Karipur are pending with the ministry. Trust chairman K V Shamsudheen said that the fears of the ministry and the airlines were misplaced as both the airlines have been doing well in Cochin Trivandrum despite presence of several foreign airlines.
The federal minister had earlier promised the people's representatives and the Malabar Chamber of Commerce that his ministry would give clearance to foreign airlines willing to operate services to the airport.
By our correspondent
29 December 2007 TRIVANDRUM — Federal Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel yesterday promised an end to the miseries of passengers at the Karipur international airport in north Kerala.
He made the promise in a letter to Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan after the latter informed about the difficulties faced by the passengers, especially the expatriates working in the Middle East, to his notice.
Patel has assured Achuthanandan that he would personally intervene in the issue. Air India chairman Thulsidas later rang up the chief minister and assured that he would take steps to improve the services of the national carrier.
Achuthanandan had taken up the matter with the minister in the light of the continuing clashes between passengers and airline officials over the frequent disruption in the services. The former said that the delay in the departure of flights from Karipur has been leading to loss of jobs to many.
The non-resident Keralites, who have come on leave, as well as fresh recruits have not been able to reach their destination before the expiry of their visa due to the inordinate delay in the departure of flights, he pointed out.
Achuthanandan blamed the indifferent attitude of Air India towards the passenger as the root cause for the problems faced by the passengers in the airport. He accused the national carrier of neglecting the passengers.
Gulf passengers believe that their woes would end only if the airport is opened to foreign airlines. They say that Air India and Indian have been exploiting passengers as they enjoy near monopoly.
Dubai-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust feels that the Civil Aviation Ministry was not giving landing right to foreign airlines fearing that it would lead to a dip in the revenue of Air India and Indian. Sri Lankan Airlines is the only foreign airline allowed to operate from Karipur at present.
Applications of several airlines, including Gulf Air, for landing right in Karipur are pending with the ministry. Trust chairman K V Shamsudheen said that the fears of the ministry and the airlines were misplaced as both the airlines have been doing well in Cochin Trivandrum despite presence of several foreign airlines.
The federal minister had earlier promised the people's representatives and the Malabar Chamber of Commerce that his ministry would give clearance to foreign airlines willing to operate services to the airport.
Budget Fails to Cheer Indian Expats
Khaleej Times
By Jeejo Augustine
7 July 2009
DUBAI - From cautious optimism to outright anger, and overflowing enthusiasm to profound pessimism, the cream of Indian corporate leaders in the UAE voiced their reactions to the budget for fiscal 2009-10 that Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented to that country’s Parliament on Monday.
This year’s budget spelled out the growing ambitions of a nation on the move, but unfortunately, as a number of businessmen pointed out, it failed — like so many budgets before it — to address the grievances of non-resident Indians. Indeed, some NRIs believe that the budget has become an annual ritual to remind them of New Delhi’s neglect and marginalisation of the expatriate Indian community.
Many NRIs also see the budget as a mere presentation of policy statements that seldom become reality.
“The budget is an illusive exercise. Proposals in the budget are irrelevant because there is a vast gap between their announcement and implementation,” said UAE-based businessman Bharatbai Shah.
And while they hailed the budget as populist and balanced, business professionals in the UAE mooted a simple question: How relevant is the budget for most NRIs?
Although non-resident Indians contribute a big chunk of India’s foreign exchange reserves, they feel increasingly left out when the nation maps its strategy for its onward march to prosperity. NRIs have for years sought to participate in India’s national development by investing in projects there but have done without any response from the government.
“The budget once again failed to address any of the long term issues of the Gulf-based NRIs, like rehabilitation of Gulf returnees or specific schemes to attract their investment into India,“ said Yusuffali MA, Managing Director of EMKE Group and Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “I hope that the government will work out some special package in this regard soon.”
Paras Shahdadpuri, Chairman of the Nikai Group of Companies and President of the Indian Business & Professional Council, shared this idea. “Unfortunately the NRI has not been directly roped in in the process of economic growth of India. There was nothing mentioned of this huge constituency of about 26 million,” he said.
NRIs had asked for the creation of a special fund — a compulsory systematic investment plan similar to a provident fund — to rehabilitate ill-fated expatriates who return to India “without a penny in hand,” added KV Shamsudheen, Chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust and Director of Barjeel Geojit Securities LLC.
“But NRIs who play a significant role by remitting foreign currency to boost foreign currency reserves of the country to the tune of $262 billion are totally neglected in the budget,” he said.
Indian Consul General Venu Rajamony rallied to the government’s defense.
“The policy outline opens the door for heightened economic interaction between the UAE and India,” Rajamony said. “If a trillion dollar economy ($1.2 trillion) can achieve a 9 per cent growth, we are going to see huge opportunities for companies in the UAE and in this region.”
By Jeejo Augustine
7 July 2009
DUBAI - From cautious optimism to outright anger, and overflowing enthusiasm to profound pessimism, the cream of Indian corporate leaders in the UAE voiced their reactions to the budget for fiscal 2009-10 that Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented to that country’s Parliament on Monday.
This year’s budget spelled out the growing ambitions of a nation on the move, but unfortunately, as a number of businessmen pointed out, it failed — like so many budgets before it — to address the grievances of non-resident Indians. Indeed, some NRIs believe that the budget has become an annual ritual to remind them of New Delhi’s neglect and marginalisation of the expatriate Indian community.
Many NRIs also see the budget as a mere presentation of policy statements that seldom become reality.
“The budget is an illusive exercise. Proposals in the budget are irrelevant because there is a vast gap between their announcement and implementation,” said UAE-based businessman Bharatbai Shah.
And while they hailed the budget as populist and balanced, business professionals in the UAE mooted a simple question: How relevant is the budget for most NRIs?
Although non-resident Indians contribute a big chunk of India’s foreign exchange reserves, they feel increasingly left out when the nation maps its strategy for its onward march to prosperity. NRIs have for years sought to participate in India’s national development by investing in projects there but have done without any response from the government.
“The budget once again failed to address any of the long term issues of the Gulf-based NRIs, like rehabilitation of Gulf returnees or specific schemes to attract their investment into India,“ said Yusuffali MA, Managing Director of EMKE Group and Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “I hope that the government will work out some special package in this regard soon.”
Paras Shahdadpuri, Chairman of the Nikai Group of Companies and President of the Indian Business & Professional Council, shared this idea. “Unfortunately the NRI has not been directly roped in in the process of economic growth of India. There was nothing mentioned of this huge constituency of about 26 million,” he said.
NRIs had asked for the creation of a special fund — a compulsory systematic investment plan similar to a provident fund — to rehabilitate ill-fated expatriates who return to India “without a penny in hand,” added KV Shamsudheen, Chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust and Director of Barjeel Geojit Securities LLC.
“But NRIs who play a significant role by remitting foreign currency to boost foreign currency reserves of the country to the tune of $262 billion are totally neglected in the budget,” he said.
Indian Consul General Venu Rajamony rallied to the government’s defense.
“The policy outline opens the door for heightened economic interaction between the UAE and India,” Rajamony said. “If a trillion dollar economy ($1.2 trillion) can achieve a 9 per cent growth, we are going to see huge opportunities for companies in the UAE and in this region.”
Aid for Keralites who lose jobs
The National
Aid for Keralites who lose jobs
By Praveen Menon
February 22. 2009
DUBAI Thousands of Indians expected to return home from the Middle East after losing their jobs will receive loans from a regional government to help them re-establish themselves.
The southern Indian state of Kerala announced that a 1 billion rupee (Dh74 million) loan package had been devised to help repatriated people from the region set up small businesses at home.
TM Thomas Isaac, the state finance minister, told the state assembly over the weekend that by the end of June, 200,000 people were expected to return from the Middle East, and most to Kerala, as a result of the global economic downturn.
He also budgeted an additional 100m rupees (Dh7.4m) for people forced to return after less than two years abroad. Officials said a registry would be set up for the returning workers and that money would be allocated according to need.
Mr Isaac announced the package as he presented his annual budget to the state assembly on Friday.
Some Indian residents of the UAE said yesterday that the announcement was a first step in recognising the problem, but the amount of money in the programme was not enough.
“It is the first time that the state has taken this step and I welcome it,” said KV Shamsudeen, the chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, which helps and advises Indians who live in Gulf countries.
“However, I think this is only a token amount.”
Kerala’s economy is struggling with reduced trade and decreasing amounts of money sent home from citizens working abroad.
“It is not just remittances that are affecting the state. Popular exports such as cashew nuts, pepper, ginger, rubber and marine products have also come down considerably,” Mr Shamsudeen said.
“With the general elections coming up, this is just an effort to appease the voter community,” said NP Ramachandran, the general secretary of the Indian Overseas Congress in Dubai. “Expatriate Indians send millions to India as remittances each year and the package offered is dismal.”
Mr Ramachandran said the government needed to clarify how the loans would be made available.
“We need a more realistic plan than to just offer loans,” he said. “A lot of qualified professionals are returning home and a package is needed to accommodate them in jobs as well as businesses.”
Mr Ramachandran said expatriate Malayalis in the UAE were preparing a complaint that would be sent to the state government next week.
Mr Shamsudeen proposed that a database of redundant professionals returning to India be set up.
“Such a database would help India re-employ these people back home,” he said.
About 25 per cent of the remittances to India go to Kerala, according to a study by the Centre for Development Studies in Trivandrum, Kerala.
The study said that 1.9 million Malayalis lived outside India, with about 90 per cent of them in the Middle East, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
This month, Vayalar Ravi, the minister for overseas Indian affairs, said he would approach Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, with a plan to offer financial support to repatriates.
Aid for Keralites who lose jobs
By Praveen Menon
February 22. 2009
DUBAI Thousands of Indians expected to return home from the Middle East after losing their jobs will receive loans from a regional government to help them re-establish themselves.
The southern Indian state of Kerala announced that a 1 billion rupee (Dh74 million) loan package had been devised to help repatriated people from the region set up small businesses at home.
TM Thomas Isaac, the state finance minister, told the state assembly over the weekend that by the end of June, 200,000 people were expected to return from the Middle East, and most to Kerala, as a result of the global economic downturn.
He also budgeted an additional 100m rupees (Dh7.4m) for people forced to return after less than two years abroad. Officials said a registry would be set up for the returning workers and that money would be allocated according to need.
Mr Isaac announced the package as he presented his annual budget to the state assembly on Friday.
Some Indian residents of the UAE said yesterday that the announcement was a first step in recognising the problem, but the amount of money in the programme was not enough.
“It is the first time that the state has taken this step and I welcome it,” said KV Shamsudeen, the chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, which helps and advises Indians who live in Gulf countries.
“However, I think this is only a token amount.”
Kerala’s economy is struggling with reduced trade and decreasing amounts of money sent home from citizens working abroad.
“It is not just remittances that are affecting the state. Popular exports such as cashew nuts, pepper, ginger, rubber and marine products have also come down considerably,” Mr Shamsudeen said.
“With the general elections coming up, this is just an effort to appease the voter community,” said NP Ramachandran, the general secretary of the Indian Overseas Congress in Dubai. “Expatriate Indians send millions to India as remittances each year and the package offered is dismal.”
Mr Ramachandran said the government needed to clarify how the loans would be made available.
“We need a more realistic plan than to just offer loans,” he said. “A lot of qualified professionals are returning home and a package is needed to accommodate them in jobs as well as businesses.”
Mr Ramachandran said expatriate Malayalis in the UAE were preparing a complaint that would be sent to the state government next week.
Mr Shamsudeen proposed that a database of redundant professionals returning to India be set up.
“Such a database would help India re-employ these people back home,” he said.
About 25 per cent of the remittances to India go to Kerala, according to a study by the Centre for Development Studies in Trivandrum, Kerala.
The study said that 1.9 million Malayalis lived outside India, with about 90 per cent of them in the Middle East, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
This month, Vayalar Ravi, the minister for overseas Indian affairs, said he would approach Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, with a plan to offer financial support to repatriates.
Debt woes lead to mental problems
The National
Debt woes lead to mental problems
By Suryatapa Bhattacharya and Salam Hafez
Last Updated: September 21. 2008
An Indian expatriate with a financial crisis sits alone worrying about his problems. Paulo Vecina / The National
DUBAI // Asian families suffering from steep increases in living costs and stagnant wages are increasingly seeking financial assistance from charitable organisations, with one reporting the number had more than doubled over the past year.
Many such families have also plunged into debt because of pressure to send more money to families in their home countries.
The trend has coincided with an increase in mental-health problems among Asian expatriates, experts say, and is of special concern to officials representing the subcontinental population.
Last week, the bodies of an Indian couple and their 20-month-old daughter were recovered from Dubai Creek. Police are investigating claims that Girish Kumar, 29, killed himself, his wife Shabija and daughter Gaurinanda because of financial problems.
According to the Indian consulate in Dubai, 82 people from the city’s Indian community who killed themselves this year had debt problems. Most of the suicides were by people from the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the consulate said. The embassies of other subcontinental countries do not make such statistics available.
Such is the level of concern that the Indian consulate has set up a part-time counselling hot line (50 734 7676) to help people with depression or who are contemplating suicide.
The Indian consul general, Venu Rajamony, said the Indian community, the UAE and the Indian governments should work together to educate families on what salaries and debt expatriates could expect here.
Mr Rajamony said of the suicides: “It is most unfortunate that something like this has happened. And this is a problem that needs to be collectively addressed to prevent such things from happening.”
Joseph Bobby, co-founder of the Valley of Love charity in Dubai, said the group sees two or three families a day looking for a way out of debt or for help for mental illnesses. In previous years, there would be two or three families a week, he said.
He said many low-income families only wanted to pay off their debts so they could return home.
“People also have long-term financial commitments back home, which they can’t meet because of mounting bills here, so sometimes going home is not an option,” Mr Bobby said.
School and bus fees, utility charges and food bills have all increased in the past year. But salaries have remained the same for many low- to middle-income families.
The main sources of debt, according to Mr Bobby, are bank loans, credit cards and illegal lenders. While banks charge up to 10 per cent for loans, some credit cards demand as much as 30 per cent. Families turning to loan sharks could be forced to pay 78 per cent interest.
“At first we give guidance on how families could manage to stay here on a sound financial footing, but now we ask them ‘can the family survive back home without the father?’ if he was the main bread winner,” Mr Bobby said.
An Indian man and his wife who work as laboratory technicians at a government hospital in Dubai said they had been unable to repay the Dh130,000 (US$35,400) they had borrowed over the past six years.
The debts mounted as the couple took more loans to pay off the initial loans they had incurred, including being defrauded by a neighbour who promised to invest their money in a restaurant. The couple have also taken loans against more than a dozen credit cards from high street banks.
The husband said: “The credit card companies are threatening without any humanity. They are threatening to take away our jobs and put us in jail because when our cheques bounce, it will be considered a criminal offence.
“We were a happy family, now it is very difficult. Now we are struggling to pay for school fees for the children or for groceries.”
The father of three, who earns Dh5,000 a month, and his wife, who earns Dh8,500, have not had salary increases in more than a decade. They are also being charged up to 180 per cent for every Dh1,000 borrowed from individual money lenders.
The couple admitted they had contemplated suicide.
The also said part of their debt arose from financing a relative’s wedding in India, for which they felt responsible.
KV Shamsudheen, the Indian radio host who set up Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust to counsel expatriates burdened by debt and remittance, said he had been counselling another family whose debt exceeded Dh130,000.
“The expatriates never inform the real situation to their families back home,” Mr Shamsudheen said.
“When I conducted three awareness classes in Kerala in August for the dependants of expatriate Indians, I asked questions about whether they enquired about the conditions of the life of the bread winner in the Gulf. They replied that they never enquired about whether he has financial resources to look after the family. The families back home are very selfish. They want money only, and that plays a very important role in this situation.”
A number of low-income newcomers arrive already in debt, from paying unscrupulous recruiting agents, he added.
Adding to the burden is a recent ruling in Dubai prohibiting families from living in shared villas. It has meant that many families now live illegally, reside in unsafe conditions elsewhere, or are homeless.
Debt woes lead to mental problems
By Suryatapa Bhattacharya and Salam Hafez
Last Updated: September 21. 2008
An Indian expatriate with a financial crisis sits alone worrying about his problems. Paulo Vecina / The National
DUBAI // Asian families suffering from steep increases in living costs and stagnant wages are increasingly seeking financial assistance from charitable organisations, with one reporting the number had more than doubled over the past year.
Many such families have also plunged into debt because of pressure to send more money to families in their home countries.
The trend has coincided with an increase in mental-health problems among Asian expatriates, experts say, and is of special concern to officials representing the subcontinental population.
Last week, the bodies of an Indian couple and their 20-month-old daughter were recovered from Dubai Creek. Police are investigating claims that Girish Kumar, 29, killed himself, his wife Shabija and daughter Gaurinanda because of financial problems.
According to the Indian consulate in Dubai, 82 people from the city’s Indian community who killed themselves this year had debt problems. Most of the suicides were by people from the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the consulate said. The embassies of other subcontinental countries do not make such statistics available.
Such is the level of concern that the Indian consulate has set up a part-time counselling hot line (50 734 7676) to help people with depression or who are contemplating suicide.
The Indian consul general, Venu Rajamony, said the Indian community, the UAE and the Indian governments should work together to educate families on what salaries and debt expatriates could expect here.
Mr Rajamony said of the suicides: “It is most unfortunate that something like this has happened. And this is a problem that needs to be collectively addressed to prevent such things from happening.”
Joseph Bobby, co-founder of the Valley of Love charity in Dubai, said the group sees two or three families a day looking for a way out of debt or for help for mental illnesses. In previous years, there would be two or three families a week, he said.
He said many low-income families only wanted to pay off their debts so they could return home.
“People also have long-term financial commitments back home, which they can’t meet because of mounting bills here, so sometimes going home is not an option,” Mr Bobby said.
School and bus fees, utility charges and food bills have all increased in the past year. But salaries have remained the same for many low- to middle-income families.
The main sources of debt, according to Mr Bobby, are bank loans, credit cards and illegal lenders. While banks charge up to 10 per cent for loans, some credit cards demand as much as 30 per cent. Families turning to loan sharks could be forced to pay 78 per cent interest.
“At first we give guidance on how families could manage to stay here on a sound financial footing, but now we ask them ‘can the family survive back home without the father?’ if he was the main bread winner,” Mr Bobby said.
An Indian man and his wife who work as laboratory technicians at a government hospital in Dubai said they had been unable to repay the Dh130,000 (US$35,400) they had borrowed over the past six years.
The debts mounted as the couple took more loans to pay off the initial loans they had incurred, including being defrauded by a neighbour who promised to invest their money in a restaurant. The couple have also taken loans against more than a dozen credit cards from high street banks.
The husband said: “The credit card companies are threatening without any humanity. They are threatening to take away our jobs and put us in jail because when our cheques bounce, it will be considered a criminal offence.
“We were a happy family, now it is very difficult. Now we are struggling to pay for school fees for the children or for groceries.”
The father of three, who earns Dh5,000 a month, and his wife, who earns Dh8,500, have not had salary increases in more than a decade. They are also being charged up to 180 per cent for every Dh1,000 borrowed from individual money lenders.
The couple admitted they had contemplated suicide.
The also said part of their debt arose from financing a relative’s wedding in India, for which they felt responsible.
KV Shamsudheen, the Indian radio host who set up Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust to counsel expatriates burdened by debt and remittance, said he had been counselling another family whose debt exceeded Dh130,000.
“The expatriates never inform the real situation to their families back home,” Mr Shamsudheen said.
“When I conducted three awareness classes in Kerala in August for the dependants of expatriate Indians, I asked questions about whether they enquired about the conditions of the life of the bread winner in the Gulf. They replied that they never enquired about whether he has financial resources to look after the family. The families back home are very selfish. They want money only, and that plays a very important role in this situation.”
A number of low-income newcomers arrive already in debt, from paying unscrupulous recruiting agents, he added.
Adding to the burden is a recent ruling in Dubai prohibiting families from living in shared villas. It has meant that many families now live illegally, reside in unsafe conditions elsewhere, or are homeless.
His radio show could save your life
The National
His radio show could save your life
by Suryatapa Bhattacharya
April 19. 2008
KV Shamsudheen (left) gestures during his live radio program, which airs every Monday night on Asianet, an Indian radio station. For more than a decade, KV Shamsudheen has been accustomed to being roused in the dead of night by phone calls from fellow Indians and other Asians so overwhelmed by debt they are on the brink of suicide.
“Sometimes I say, ‘Please, my brother, you can call me any time you like. I am ready to listen to your problems, share your feelings’,” he said.
Mr Shamsudheen makes his living as the director of a Dubai-based stock brokerage. However, he spends most of his time running Pravasi Bandhu, literally “friend of the expatriates” in Sanskrit, a charity that helps low income workers manage their debts and put aside a little money for the future.
Many of his callers know him from his radio show on financial planning and investment broadcast by Asianet, an Indian station based at Dubai’s Media City, every Monday night for the past three years.
Mr Shamsudheen estimates that between his radio show and the people who somehow discover his mobile telephone number, he can be called up to four or five times a minute.
He says his callers were mostly workers who cannot cope with paying off debts and sending money home, and that he tries to talk with as many of them as he can to prevent the worst.
“Many suicides are related to financial hardship,” Mr Shamsudheen said. “So I will tell them this is not the solution. If you are thinking this kind of thing, then first think about your family and children. The family will be worse off than they are today.”
His family, he says, no longer complains when he takes calls at odd hours. He says he usually talks to the often frantic callers for half an hour. First, he calms them down, then he lets them know there is someone they can talk to.
“When they feel that someone is listening to their problems, then that itself is part of the solution because here they don’t have anyone to talk to,” he said.
Two years ago, Mr Shamsudheen set up a new offshoot of Pravasi Bandhu called Sandwanam, which roughly means “comfort”, with the aim of stemming the growing number of Indians committing suicide in the UAE over financial troubles.
“We cannot help them financially and suicide is not a solution, but we try to show them how to cope,” said Mr Shamsudheen, who noted that in his 38 years of living in the Gulf he rarely encountered Indian workers planning to return to their country.
“Your objective, when you come here, is to provide a quality of life for yourself and your family but also keep retirement in mind,” he said. “It is possible for the lowest paid Indian worker to save.”
He said his advice to many workers was simple: save Dh50, or about 500 rupees, a month. In 30 years, the figure could stand at 2.5 million rupees, a comfortable retirement package. But he warned that many failed to do so.
“They very systematically send money back home, otherwise their families wouldn’t survive,” he said. But in most cases the families spend all the money and save very little or none at all.
When he established Pravasi Bandhu in 2001, Mr Shamsudheen conducted a survey of 10,000 Indians, mostly from middle and lower income groups, about their saving habits.
“The results were alarming,” he said. Many of them build houses in India they are not able to maintain when they return because they have no savings.
He added that being an NRI, or non-resident Indian, could be prestigious in the foreign worker’s home country, so their families often spent all their money to maintain that image.
“The mistake they make when they send money home is to say: ‘This is family expenditure’. So the family spends it all. Instead he should say: ‘Save some, spend some’. When they return for good, all this disappears. It is a sad situation.”
Some labourers who have returned to India after working in the Gulf for more than 30 years were even told by their wives to return to the Middle East so the family could continue to live well, he said.
Labourers earn an average of Dh700 a month, but their trek to find work is often a costly one.
They borrow from lenders, sell family jewellery or mortgage their land to pay unscrupulous agents or recruiters up to Dh10,000 for passage to countries like the UAE.
“Once they arrive here, the families think the breadwinner is in the Gulf, so they have to upgrade their lifestyle,” said Mr Shamsudheen. “Now the family demands more money and there is also that loan to pay off.”
As a result, some resort to taking additional loans from banks, credit card companies or private lenders who charge interest rates as high as 12 per cent. Add to that the rising cost of living.
“But salaries haven’t [kept up],” said Mr Shamsudheen.
He said he cannot help everyone, but that the small victories keep him going.
“If you show mercy to people in the world, God will show you mercy,”
said Mr Shamsudheen. “It’s God’s promise.”
His radio show could save your life
by Suryatapa Bhattacharya
April 19. 2008
KV Shamsudheen (left) gestures during his live radio program, which airs every Monday night on Asianet, an Indian radio station. For more than a decade, KV Shamsudheen has been accustomed to being roused in the dead of night by phone calls from fellow Indians and other Asians so overwhelmed by debt they are on the brink of suicide.
“Sometimes I say, ‘Please, my brother, you can call me any time you like. I am ready to listen to your problems, share your feelings’,” he said.
Mr Shamsudheen makes his living as the director of a Dubai-based stock brokerage. However, he spends most of his time running Pravasi Bandhu, literally “friend of the expatriates” in Sanskrit, a charity that helps low income workers manage their debts and put aside a little money for the future.
Many of his callers know him from his radio show on financial planning and investment broadcast by Asianet, an Indian station based at Dubai’s Media City, every Monday night for the past three years.
Mr Shamsudheen estimates that between his radio show and the people who somehow discover his mobile telephone number, he can be called up to four or five times a minute.
He says his callers were mostly workers who cannot cope with paying off debts and sending money home, and that he tries to talk with as many of them as he can to prevent the worst.
“Many suicides are related to financial hardship,” Mr Shamsudheen said. “So I will tell them this is not the solution. If you are thinking this kind of thing, then first think about your family and children. The family will be worse off than they are today.”
His family, he says, no longer complains when he takes calls at odd hours. He says he usually talks to the often frantic callers for half an hour. First, he calms them down, then he lets them know there is someone they can talk to.
“When they feel that someone is listening to their problems, then that itself is part of the solution because here they don’t have anyone to talk to,” he said.
Two years ago, Mr Shamsudheen set up a new offshoot of Pravasi Bandhu called Sandwanam, which roughly means “comfort”, with the aim of stemming the growing number of Indians committing suicide in the UAE over financial troubles.
“We cannot help them financially and suicide is not a solution, but we try to show them how to cope,” said Mr Shamsudheen, who noted that in his 38 years of living in the Gulf he rarely encountered Indian workers planning to return to their country.
“Your objective, when you come here, is to provide a quality of life for yourself and your family but also keep retirement in mind,” he said. “It is possible for the lowest paid Indian worker to save.”
He said his advice to many workers was simple: save Dh50, or about 500 rupees, a month. In 30 years, the figure could stand at 2.5 million rupees, a comfortable retirement package. But he warned that many failed to do so.
“They very systematically send money back home, otherwise their families wouldn’t survive,” he said. But in most cases the families spend all the money and save very little or none at all.
When he established Pravasi Bandhu in 2001, Mr Shamsudheen conducted a survey of 10,000 Indians, mostly from middle and lower income groups, about their saving habits.
“The results were alarming,” he said. Many of them build houses in India they are not able to maintain when they return because they have no savings.
He added that being an NRI, or non-resident Indian, could be prestigious in the foreign worker’s home country, so their families often spent all their money to maintain that image.
“The mistake they make when they send money home is to say: ‘This is family expenditure’. So the family spends it all. Instead he should say: ‘Save some, spend some’. When they return for good, all this disappears. It is a sad situation.”
Some labourers who have returned to India after working in the Gulf for more than 30 years were even told by their wives to return to the Middle East so the family could continue to live well, he said.
Labourers earn an average of Dh700 a month, but their trek to find work is often a costly one.
They borrow from lenders, sell family jewellery or mortgage their land to pay unscrupulous agents or recruiters up to Dh10,000 for passage to countries like the UAE.
“Once they arrive here, the families think the breadwinner is in the Gulf, so they have to upgrade their lifestyle,” said Mr Shamsudheen. “Now the family demands more money and there is also that loan to pay off.”
As a result, some resort to taking additional loans from banks, credit card companies or private lenders who charge interest rates as high as 12 per cent. Add to that the rising cost of living.
“But salaries haven’t [kept up],” said Mr Shamsudheen.
He said he cannot help everyone, but that the small victories keep him going.
“If you show mercy to people in the world, God will show you mercy,”
said Mr Shamsudheen. “It’s God’s promise.”
A letter leads to action in Sharjah
The National
June 13, 2008
A letter leads to action in Sharjah
I would like to inform you that I had forwarded a copy of my letter printed by The National to the director general of the Sharjah Municipality: Long detour for lack of road sign (Dec 8).
In response they have erected two very detailed sign boards, which is very helpful for thousands of motorists using this road to the Sharjah airport.
I appreciate the timely action of the Sharjah authorities and The National for publishing the letter.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
June 13, 2008
A letter leads to action in Sharjah
I would like to inform you that I had forwarded a copy of my letter printed by The National to the director general of the Sharjah Municipality: Long detour for lack of road sign (Dec 8).
In response they have erected two very detailed sign boards, which is very helpful for thousands of motorists using this road to the Sharjah airport.
I appreciate the timely action of the Sharjah authorities and The National for publishing the letter.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
An accident waiting to happen
The National
July 27, 2008
The Al Reem Building along the Sharjah Corniche includes the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and many educational institutions. Thousands are visiting this building daily, but there is not sufficient parking space available, and people have no option but to park their cars along the Corniche side of the road. Among those being forced to walk across the road are sick patients and mothers with infants.
Crossing this road is risky because vehicles are travelling at such great speeds. Something must be put in place that will force those driving in this area to slow down.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
July 27, 2008
The Al Reem Building along the Sharjah Corniche includes the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and many educational institutions. Thousands are visiting this building daily, but there is not sufficient parking space available, and people have no option but to park their cars along the Corniche side of the road. Among those being forced to walk across the road are sick patients and mothers with infants.
Crossing this road is risky because vehicles are travelling at such great speeds. Something must be put in place that will force those driving in this area to slow down.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
Families living in villas need more time
The National
November 01. 2008
Families living in villas need more time
Families who have to vacate their homes on account of the one villa, one family rule are searching for affordable homes in Sharjah, Ajman and Umm al Quwain, and many are having difficulties finding one. Some are at the mercy of friends or relatives in temporary accommodation and others cannot get settled anywhere. There are many cases where families cannot send their children to school because they keep moving from place to place.
The families that were living in shared accommodation were paying from Dh3,000 to Dh4,000 per month, whereas the places they are staying in now require many times this rent. They are left with little choice but to borrow money. Indebtedness is becoming epidemic among expatriates in UAE, this is already leading to many other social problems.
Most of these people, who cannot afford the current rent, will send their families back home once school has finished for the summer. The most painful thing is, if they go to their home countries then their children will not get admitted into schools in between the academic year, so thousands of children will miss out on a full year’s education. Considering this situation, I earnestly appeal to the authorities to not enforce this rule until the end of the school year — it will help parents to sort out their children’s education.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
November 01. 2008
Families living in villas need more time
Families who have to vacate their homes on account of the one villa, one family rule are searching for affordable homes in Sharjah, Ajman and Umm al Quwain, and many are having difficulties finding one. Some are at the mercy of friends or relatives in temporary accommodation and others cannot get settled anywhere. There are many cases where families cannot send their children to school because they keep moving from place to place.
The families that were living in shared accommodation were paying from Dh3,000 to Dh4,000 per month, whereas the places they are staying in now require many times this rent. They are left with little choice but to borrow money. Indebtedness is becoming epidemic among expatriates in UAE, this is already leading to many other social problems.
Most of these people, who cannot afford the current rent, will send their families back home once school has finished for the summer. The most painful thing is, if they go to their home countries then their children will not get admitted into schools in between the academic year, so thousands of children will miss out on a full year’s education. Considering this situation, I earnestly appeal to the authorities to not enforce this rule until the end of the school year — it will help parents to sort out their children’s education.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
We need a three-year rent cap
The National
July22, 2008
The article, “Key workers leaving over rent rises” (July 20), was eye-opening.
UAE-based companies are struggling to retain their existing work force — be they professional, skilled or unskilled — because these workers cannot afford the quickly increasing rents and school fees.
And while some companies have increased their salary scale, many cannot keep pace with the demands of the workers. The only solution would be to introduce a three-year rent cap across the country.
After that time, rents could increase by seven per cent. It is a logical solution for all concerned.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
July22, 2008
The article, “Key workers leaving over rent rises” (July 20), was eye-opening.
UAE-based companies are struggling to retain their existing work force — be they professional, skilled or unskilled — because these workers cannot afford the quickly increasing rents and school fees.
And while some companies have increased their salary scale, many cannot keep pace with the demands of the workers. The only solution would be to introduce a three-year rent cap across the country.
After that time, rents could increase by seven per cent. It is a logical solution for all concerned.
K V Shamsudheen, Sharjah
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