The victim, P. Periyaswamy, aged 45, came to work as a shepherd in the Hail region in 1994. He was married for a year when he reached the Kingdom.
“His sponsor did not pay his salary for 18 years and never allowed him to go on vacation or leave on final exit. He never confronted his Saudi sponsor in the hope that he would be allowed to go home one day,” Indian Welfare Consul in Jeddah S.D. Moorthy told Arab News yesterday.
“Out of depression, Periyaswamy had even attempted to commit suicide,” Moorthy said.
On seeing his pathetic condition, a good-hearted Saudi citizen complained to the police and the governor’s office about the ordeal he had been undergoing under the hands of the Saudi sponsor. The sponsor was then arrested and ordered to pay the dues and air ticket.
After learning about Periyaswamy's situation, the governorate instructed the concerned authorities to repatriate him immediately after paying his salary dues.
On the directives from the governorate, Periyaswamy is kept under the care of Al-Shamli police station in Hail.
According to Moorthy, Periyaswamy was brought by two police officers to the Indian Consulate in Jeddah to obtain his travel documents. The diplomat said his passport was allegedly eaten by a camel in the farm. “The victim was in a different world, and we could see that in his abnormal behavior," Moorthy said.
On its part, the Indian Consulate issued him an emergency travel pass for a single journey to India.
Thanking the police for their quick action in helping the distressed employer, Moorthy said the consulate had already sent a petition to the governorate requesting compensation for the victim. “We are also taking up the matter with the Foreign Ministry in the Kingdom to repatriate Periyaswamy with the anticipated compensation as quickly as possible.”
In a warning note, Moorthy urged his countrymen not to accept shepherding jobs in the Kingdom as the consulate feels that Indians are not capable to handle such jobs in the climatic conditions in the country. “Such a job demands hard work, good health, endurance and mental strength to cope with and rough out desert conditions,” he said.
The diplomat said that the worker's dues had reached more than SR100,000. However, the worker is demanding SR85,000 from his sponsor. The sponsor claims that he is jobless and he is not in a position to pay a single riyal.
A group of Indian social workers have collected some SR30,000 to help the worker, which would be given to him at the time of his departure to India.
