BENGALURU: A 27-year-old Bengaluru woman who went to Abu Dhabi to work as a domestic help underwent a horrible time for four months. Her employer made her work twenty hours a day, without sufficient food and didn’t pay her.
She escaped by leaping off the window of her employer’s house and later sought asylum at the Indian embassy. She finally reached Bengaluru on Friday.
Twenty hours of work a day without being paid a paise, no change of clothes and passport snatched away — this sums up the four-month ordeal a 27-year-old Bengaluru woman experienced in Abu Dhabi. She finally escaped by leaping off the window of her employer’s house and seeking asylum at the Indian embassy.
On Friday evening, the woman reached Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the relief of being back home writ large on her face.
Nimisha (name changed) was born and raised in Bagalur, Bengaluru Urban, and supported her family, including elderly parents and three young siblings, by working as a domestic help in the locality. But the Covid crisis left her unemployed and she struggled to feed the mouths she was supporting and buy medicines for her parents.
Then she came across someone she thought was a godsend: Aisha from Goripalya, an illegal agent, who promised to place her as a domestic help in Abu Dhabi for a monthly pay of Rs 30,000.
“For someone who was struggling to make ends meet in Bengaluru, the offer was enticing. So she took accepted it and flew to UAE in March-end,” said PN Nagendra Babu, officer attached to Office of Protector of Emigrants, Bengaluru, who received Nimisha at KIA.
On landing in Abu Dhabi, Nimisha was received by a Sri Lankan agent, identified as Ajmal, who drove her to her employer, an Emirati family. But what awaited the Bengaluru woman was non-stop work, including cleaning, washing and gardening.
“She was woken up at 4am for work and subjected to harsh treatment with not enough food, water or change of clothes. Even after two months, the family didn’t pay her anything,” Babu said.
Nimisha wasn’t even allowed to keep a cellphone. She somehow managed to contact Ajmal and narrated her plight to him. He, however allegedly asked for Rs 3 lakh to give back her passport. Finally, on July 25, 2021 when her employers were asleep, Nimisha jumped off the first-floor window of the house and ran to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi determined to come back to Bengaluru.
The embassy team contacted the office of Shubham Singh, IFS, Protector of Emigrants, in Bengaluru and the process of repatriation began. After days of uncertainty, the 27-year-old landed here on an Air India flight. The Indian embassy issued her an emergency certificate for travel as she couldn’t retrieve her passport.
Landing in Bengaluru, Nimisha turned emotional after meeting her brother who had arrived to pick her up. “I can’t believe I am back here. I just want to get back to my family and begin afresh,” she added tearfully.
Beware of fraudsters promising jobs: Officer
“Any Indian citizen seeking job abroad should approach only registered recruiting agents whose list is available on our portal emigrate.gov.in. Currently, there are only 35 such registered agents in Karnataka and people shouldn’t fall prey to fraudsters promising jobs,” said Singh.
For issues related to overseas recruitment frauds or verifying authenticity of an agent, people can approach the Protector of Emigrants under the ministry of external affairs via 080-25711499/599 or poebengaluru@mea.gov.in and can get response in an hour.
