Embassy in Kuwait not prepared, leads to chaos

HYDERABAD: Thousands of Indians desperate to return home making use of the amnesty provided by the Kuwaiti government had a harrowing experience at the Indian Embassy in Kuwait on Monday.
As the arrangements made to receive the applications and complete the formalities were inadequate, workers were put to a lot of difficulty. The Kuwaiti government had announced that between January 29 and February 22, workers from all countries illegally staying in the country could leave without having to pay penalties for overstaying.
There are a large number of workers from Telangana and AP stuck in Kuwait for several years due to various reasons.They stayed back as their employers would not give them back their passports or their ‘iqama’ (work permit) expired.
“Because of the large turnout of workers to avail the amnesty, arrangements at the embassy were not enough,” a worker told TOI over the phone from Kuwait. Each person had to take an application form and fill it. Not everyone could do it.
The workers should also submit a photocopy of their passport. Most would not have their passports as their employers would not have given it back to them.
In such cases, the embassy makes an emergency travel document to facilitate the worker’s return.
The Indian Embassy in Kuwait, as it appeared, was clearly unprepared to handle such a heavy rush. The workers started showing up at the embassy from 4.30am.
It is learnt that embassy officials were coming out to receive the applications or give the forms at regular intervals but for a situation like this, anticipated as it was, the workers had expected better arrangements.
The eagerness to get back to India by availing the amnesty was due to the benefits it would give to workers. With this, they would get an opportunity to go back to Kuwait legally again through an employer by following the mandatory procedures. A Kuwaiti Dinar’s value is Rs 226 in India and workers from here would not like to lose the opportunity to go there again.