SEVEN fishermen who were stranded in the country without salary for more than two months have finally returned home.
The Indian men flew back to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday.
The men – Vibistan Valan, 21, Rayan Peter, 35, Vincent Siluvai, 20, Emilian Jeevan, 30, Joseph Mathan Julian, 34, Austin Jeniston, 21 and Jebamani Peter, 37 – arrived in Bahrain in January with high hopes of making a living.
But their dreams were shattered when they were forced to work in deplorable conditions for insufficient pay.
The desperate men begged their Iranian employer to send them home, but he demanded BD6,000 in return for their freedom.
He allegedly claimed that the amount was for repairing the two boats on which the men worked. The men sought help from Bahrain resident Arputha Anto Vijay, who hails from their hometown.
“When I met them in November, they were devastated,” the 34-year-old schoolteacher told the GDN.
“They were working on two boats – three on one and four on the other – with no work contract.
“They told me that three of them received BD350 after nine months of work and the others were paid BD450 after seven months.
“The salary was not paid regularly, but in lump sum, and they were not permitted to sell their catch.
“This was not helping the men as they were unable to support their families back home.”
Each of them allegedly paid INR80,000 (about BD400) to a middleman, a fisherman from their hometown, living in Bahrain. Additionally, the sponsor said that BD20 would be deducted from each person’s salary to cover visa and Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) fees.
“The men were deeply in debt,” said Mr Vijay, who helped them file a police report.
Police summoned the employer, who allegedly threatened the men with legal action.
“He threatened me as well, demanding BD6,000 for the men’s release; he was also holding their passports,” said Mr Vijay.
“He disconnected power at their Manama housing and soon after evicted the men from their quarters.
“I took them to my house – that’s when a friend connected me with the Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF).”
Mr Vijay presented the case at the Indian Embassy’s open house last month with the help of ICRF chairman Dr Babu Ramachandran.
LMRA expat shelter head Shereen Al Saati not only provided the men with refuge at the Sehla centre but also helped in obtaining their passports and arranging for their tickets.
The men left the country without paying anything to the sponsor.
&uuid=(email))