Most of us seem to know that the plight of foreign workers in many Arab countries is deplorable, but the recent news stories from Saudi Arabia have a shocking side to them. Thousands of foreign workers -- mostly from South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan -- have remained without wages for months, and their families in home countries are not even in a position to help them in any way. Only from India, there are reportedly more than 10,000 workers who are going hungry or barely surviving on crumbs.

This is not a canard but a verified report revealed by Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. Initially, the number of foreign workers going hungry was estimated to be in hundreds but gradually as more and more workers informed their families back home about their foodless and shelter less situation, the number grew to thousands. Right now the total number of Indian workers in Saudi Arabia is estimated to be around three million. The Gulf employers prefer workers from countries of South Asia mostly because they are victims of poverty in their own countries and are ready to accept meagre salaries even for the most physically demanding of jobs.

The so-called Kafeels or caretakers deprive the foreign workers of their passports almost immediately after arrival, which means no workers after landing in Gulf countries can leave even if they don’t like their jobs, or if they are treated badly. The Kafeel becomes the master of their destiny and can indefinitely prevent any worker from leaving, and in most cases there is no system of redress at the governmental level.

The recent downfall in oil prices has adversely affected the Gulf economies resulting in accumulating wages of the foreign workers who have been unable to do anything to get their salaries when their employers default.

In Saudi Arabia, the number of companies that have had a downturn, is in dozens, if not in hundreds. Employers are refusing to pay arrears and the foreign workers are not only unable to send any money home but even facing acute cash shortages to feed their own selves. In Jeddah alone, around 20,000 foreign workers are either being fed by charity organisations or simply going hungry. Reportedly, most of these workers have not been paid for eight to ten months, neither are there any arrangements for sending them back home.

Now even if their home countries send airplanes to transport their workers, there is no guarantee that they will get their arrears. Generally, foreign workers live in inhuman conditions but now the situation is much worse as they can’t even purchase drinking water that turns out to be more expensive than oil. According to news reports, these workers are forced to drink water that is not fit to drink and can only be used for washing clothes or taking a bath. The Indian embassy claims to have arranged food for two weeks.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arranged for distributing cheques worth Rs50,000 to each worker’s family in Pakistan; how many of them have actually been distributed is a moot question.

But this doesn’t seem to be the solution. Most affected workers belong to the poorest of the poor who work in construction companies and fulfill their strenuous duties even in sizzling temperatures. Be it a heatwave or a sandstorm, they are expected to work and then their blood and sweat fails to earn then a decent wage. In this situation even the most hardened criminal is likely to have some mercy but not our builders of high rises in the Gulf.

Many employers have simply disappeared after closing their offices and there is no one to give any consolation to the victims or to return their passports. Though Sushma Swaraj has claimed that over 15,000 kilogrammes of food has been distributed among the hungry Indian workers, the number of mouths to be fed is too staggering to be covered by this supply. Then she has sent her minister of state, V K Singh, to talk to the Saudi officials.

The largest number of the Indians working in the Gulf countries is based in Saudi Arabia. In addition, a sizable number amounting to three to four million work in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, and they are also perturbed by the possibility of a similar tragedy.

Many workers in Saudi Arabia have complained that the Kafeel is demanding around 15,000 riyals just to return their passports. Another tragic aspect of this situation is that many workers are highly qualified, possessing engineering degrees and diplomas. Only after their arrival they get to know that the work they have to do is of a labourer. So the dreams of these engineers and diploma holders for better employments are shattered and they suddenly find themselves hammering nails or working as beasts of burden.

The trap that is tightened around these workers cannot be cut unless they get their passports back from the Kafeel. These workers manage to get these employments after paying hefty sums to recruitment agents. Normally the process starts with an ad in a newspaper about some attractive job opportunities in a Gulf country with handsome salaries. Hundreds of thousands of rupees is charged to get visas for these workers who in many cases use their meagre saving or sell their wives’ jewelry, or simply get loans on interest. They pay and get trapped.

Many workers have complained that they don’t even get half of the salary that was promised. Then if a worker gets hurt or fractures his leg or arm, they have no choice but to turn beggars. People think that these lazy bones have not even spared the holy land to beg and pester pilgrims. Since the workers are spread all over, they don’t even have money to travel to the capital to seek help from their embassies. Other on-job compatriots are afraid of raising their voice lest they too are terminated and end up begging from door to door.

The most disturbing is the imposition of severe punishments on those who invite the ire of their employers. Recently in Saudi Arabia a housemaid has been sentenced to death on charges of killing her lady employer. This 22-year-old woman is languishing in a jail in Dammam.

The latest news from Saudi Arabia is that some government officials have promised to help in repatriation of those Indian and Pakistan workers who have lost their jobs. Saudi media was initially not paying any attention to this problem but when international media started highlighting this and the workers themselves kept sending SOS to their home countries the Saudi officials had to announce that they would try to help in repatriation.

Now that the Pakistani ambassador himself has confirmed on PTV that just in one Saudi company over 7000 workers have been laid off; thousands more who have not been paid for months and are forced to live in camps set up in various cities, one hopes the governments of India and Pakistan are able to not only repatriate them but also help them in getting their arrears.