The worker from the south Indian state of Kerala has never contacted his wife, children and relatives during this period, said a local NGO, which has launched a search for the missing worker in the Kingdom in cooperation with the Indian Embassy.
"A search for the worker has been started," R. Muraleedharan, president of the Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA), said Tuesday. Muraleedharan pointed out that Hameed, who hails from Kozhikode district of Kerala, worked in the Kingdom as a menial worker from 1986 to 2003.
"Hameed returned to India in 2003, stayed there for some time and then suddenly disappeared on Feb. 29, 2004," said the FOKASA chief.
"The worker was last seen a couple of years ago in the Batha area of Riyadh," said Muraleedharan. An acquaintance who identified him informed Hameed's elder brother Mohammed Koya and brother-in-law Abdul Kareem about his presence in the Saudi capital. Koya and Kareem thought at that time that Hameed had been hiding deliberately for fear of reprisal from his creditors whom he owed a hefty sum.
Both of Hameed's relatives, however, have assured through Arab News that they are willing to pay the amount to Hameed to write off his debt provided he returns and reunites with his family.
Hameed's mother died a couple of years ago. His bankrupt wife M. Mariyam and his two helpless children of 14 and 12 years old are living alone at their ancestral home in Kozhikode waiting for Hameed to return.
FOKASA has called on the Indian Embassy to order an inquiry and to take up the case with Saudi officials to find out the whereabouts of this worker.
