Abu Dhabi-based airline will also add Bali, Mykonos, Nice, and more as summer destinations
aviation2 hours ago
A 19-year-old Indian girl from the state of Punjab, was rescued by members of Dubai's Indian diplomatic mission and local associations, thanks to a series of tweets from a journalism student in the state. The tweets came to the attention of Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, who ordered the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Dubai to look into the repatriation of the girl immediately.
1998-born Simaranjeet Kaur arrived in Dubai with the hopes of pursuing a career as a nanny (child caretaker) in a household in Ajman for a salary of Dh5,000 per month. Unfortunately, as she landed, the fearful Simaran, shocked at the reality of working in Ajman, insisted that she did not want to work as a maid and asked her recruitment agent to send her back to India.
Moreover, Indian Consulate officials in Dubai have also stated Simaran's case is one of trafficking of unskilled labour from India to the UAE. Social workers in Ajman have said this has been the fastest case of repatriation that they have seen.
After much discussion and heated debates over tweets in the last three days, Simaran was finally repatriated to Amritsar on Sunday (July 29)
Series of events unfold over Twitter
Simaran is from a small village in Punjab called Pandori Gola, situated in Tarn Taran town in Punjab. The family is economically backward and depend on the income from their four children. Simaran is the oldest among the girls. "She left from Amritsar on Thursday, July 26. She landed at Dubai Airport Terminal 2 where she had to wait for several hours, given that her agent was late to pick her up," explained her mother Surinder Kaur.
@SushmaSwaraj mam pls see these details. She is sister of my friend. An agent took money from her for singapore visa and left her in dubai. She is at terminal 2 dubai airport. She doesnt have a phone. Her name is simran. Please help! pic.twitter.com/TocZNOm3bx
- Monica Sharma (@monicasharma27) July 26, 2018
These are details of agent. The family is trying to find him but unable to do so pic.twitter.com/i7U1l5GQ0R"We got worried when we didn't hear from her for many hours. When she reached Ajman, she spoke to us and I felt like something was wrong. She sounded unhappy and we got worried," added Surinder. Speaking to Khaleej Times from her home in India, Surinder said, "We belong to a very poor family and have no education. We sent her to Dubai so she can get a good life," her mother added. She said, "Three other girls also went from our village, but they could return home since they have money to purchase return tickets. Simaran only had Rs3000 (Dh160) with her."
- Monica Sharma (@monicasharma27) July 28, 2018
@monicasharma27 Simran has cleared Dubai immigration. According to immigration her return ticket is booked from Oman. Please try to get details from the Indian agent and inform us details of who was supposed to receive her in Dubai.
- India in Dubai (@cgidubai) July 27, 2018
There is just a mention about return ticket from Oman. We do not have the exact details.
- India in Dubai (@cgidubai) July 27, 2018
The details have been given by @monicasharma27. I am endorsing her tweets. Please take stringent action that should set an example for all such agents. /2@cgidubai @ProtectorGenGOI @Indemb_MuscatOnce the mother received a distress call from her daughter, she spoke to her older son about her travel to India. Her brother alerted his friend, Monica Sharma, a journalism student. Sharma tweeted at Minister Swaraj from her handle @monicasharma27 saying, "An agent took money from her for Singapore visa and left her in Dubai. She is at Terminal 2 Dubai airport. She doesn't have a phone. Her name is Simaran. Please help". (sic)
- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) July 28, 2018
Simran at Airport before departure. pic.twitter.com/OfCPQqwdabThe CGI later collected contact details of the girl's agent from the family and requested Roop Sidhu, the Secretary General of the Ajman Indian Association to look into the matter. Sidhu told Khaleej Times, "Since housemaid abandonment cases are common in Ajman, we were able to trace her through our network of other recruitment agents. We found her in a matter of hours on Saturday evening, where she was given shelter by the Association."
- India in Dubai (@cgidubai) July 29, 2018
As a citizen of India, it was my duty. Thankyou so much mam for taking care of it. Just because of you, simran is rescued in 48 hours!Roop added, "From my conversation with her, it was evident that the girl got scared, and given that she has no formal education - neither in Punjabi, English, or Hindi, she was not able to provide a written statement stating her experiences." Roop also confirmed that he has reason to believe that the agent did not treat her in any kind of abusive manner and that she lived with other housemaids in accommodations in Ajman.
- Monica Sharma (@monicasharma27) July 28, 2018
Abu Dhabi-based airline will also add Bali, Mykonos, Nice, and more as summer destinations
aviation2 hours ago
Most Asian currencies slipped, with the Indonesian rupiah down nearly 0.2% and leading losses
asia2 hours ago
The fleet includes stainless-steel tankers, which are equipped with an operating box or pump room installed at the rear of the vehicle instead of at the bottom of the tankers. This change in the location of the operating box helps to facilitate safer operations
kt network2 hours ago
The airline will refurbish another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777
uae2 hours ago
Yellow metal prices retraced from earlier gains following the release of the US April employment report
markets3 hours ago
New investment adds to the S$11.5 billion the company has poured into the Asia Pacific Region until 2023
tech3 hours ago
Safety experts have said the problems at the company suggest significant safety culture defects that will not be turned around quickly
world3 hours ago
'Aquarabia' will offer extreme watersports zone dedicated to rafting, kayaking, canyoneering, free solo climbing and cliff jumping and more
gulf4 hours ago