Thrashed abroad, Nakodar woman returns traumatised, empty-handed from Muscat

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, July 11

“It was my dream to give a comfortable and happy life to my mother. But now that dream has been shattered, and on top of it, my stay there has affected my mother’s mental peace,” said a traumatized 24-year-old woman from Nakodar who was recently brought back from Muscat by Rajya Sabha MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal. Hers is not the only case. Women from poor families are often duped by travel agents and made to suffer. These women, who have come back from foreign shores, say that it’s better to earn less than to suffer there.

The woman alleged that she suffered physical and mental torture in Muscat. The woman wanted to go to Dubai for “work” in someone’s home just like the way she and her mother were earning here as house helps.

“I remained in Dubai for a week and then I was taken to Muscat where I worked as a maid for someone. My four months stay there has left me tormented. I was beaten, didn’t get my clothes, was not given food sometimes and what not,” the woman shared while she was taking rest and having medicines to recover from the trauma and sufferings.

A similar story was shared by a 26-year-old woman from Jalandhar city. She left her three-year-old child here just to earn for family’s better future. She couldn’t complete her education after death of her father. She has a brother who is mentally unstable.

“I have completed my first year in graduation in nursing. I really wanted to study, but after the death of my father, I dropped out as there was no money for my studies. I knew that if I wanted to earn, I would have to go out. But, I have seen the struggle and pain abroad,” she said.

Last year, a mother of a 14-year-old daughter, Rajni (name changed) from Kapurthala had gone abroad in April to earn money for her daughter’s operation (she had a lump in her throat). She also returned empty-handed and traumatised.

Now, she is working in a Ludhiana factory and earning Rs 10,000. Until now, she has not been able to pay for her daughter’s operation. “I am working really hard away from my family. But, at least I am sure that I will go back to my family,” she said.