Nadia: The Iraq war has hit India. Even as 39 Indians remain in captivity in Mosul, thousands are hoping to come home. But heavily in debt, many of them are worried about what they’re returning to. Twenty-seven men have returned to West Bengal’s Nadia – jobless and being hounded by moneylenders.
It was the dream of a good life where their families will have pucca houses and their own land that drove many to Iraq to live that dream. But what happened after was nothing short of a nightmare. They were tortured, intimidated and exploited for six months and even their passports were seized in an alien city with a language he could not understand.
“They took away our passport as soon as we landed. We were given food once a day and salary once in two months. And 25 of us were cramped in a tiny room. The employers would beat us if we ever took breaks,” one of them claimed.
They finally escaped after the Indian government intervened. Many of them have been doing odd jobs to make ends meet and feed their families. The trauma of the country in conflict still remains fresh in his mind. “There were bullets everywhere and bombs exploding at every corner. We will die of hunger rather than going back to work there,” said another.
Iraq is a closed chapter after many of them were duped by rogue agents who forced them to take loans for Gulf jobs. “We are trapped. We lost from both sides. The employers did not pay us saying they paid for our visa and tickets even though we paid the agents for them. The agents here have all fled. The money is gone, we have no salary but the money lenders want their money back. But we don’t know how to pay them back,” said yet another.
So far the Bengal government hasn’t promised any rehabilitation measures for the 25 men from Bengal who have returned after a traumatic journey from Iraq. For the men facing an uncertain future with very little qualification for a job, it’s back to poverty once again, but this time with a mounting debt that they cannot escape.
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