Expats get a helping hand

DUBAI - The Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC) has come to the aid of a number of Indian expatriates who have found themselves in distress following several unfortunate incidents.

By Debasree S.

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Published: Tue 1 Apr 2003, 11:54 AM

Last updated: Wed 1 Apr 2015, 9:53 PM

Varghese Peter, owner of a small workshop, was held responsible for the death of his employee Robin Anthony who died of a heart attack due to an electrical shock at the workplace.

Mr Peter was asked to pay a diya money of Dh150,000 but his inability to pay up the compensation money landed him in jail in Fujairah. At a recent meeting of the ICWC, it was announced that a sum of Dh 55,000 had been raised from the community while another Dh20,000 had been approved of by the ICWC as its contribution towards the settlement of the case. The ICWC has also recommended that efforts should be made to negotiate with the legal heirs of the victim to accept an amount of Dh75,000 as diya money instead of the Dh150,000 ordered by the court.

In another case, Theresa Nathalia D'souza, who was sponsored by a dental clinic on the visa of a nurse, found herself working as a maid in a house. She worked for seven months and then approached the Indian consulate for assistance to go back to India. The consulate contacted the sponsor and succeeded in getting her visa cancelled. Since the sponsor refused to pay for the air ticket and Theresa was not in a position to pay up, the ICWC intervened and paid for her return ticket to India.

Manney Ravinder had come to UAE on a visit visa and to look for a job and he was sponsored by his brother who was working in a jewellery shop. He got a job and went to Kish Island for changing his visa. But following his return from Kish Island, he became unconscious and was admitted to Dubai Hospital and later shifted to Rashid Hospital. Since his right side was paralysed, Mr Ravinder's brother was advised to send him home to India. He approached the ICWC for financial assistance and it agreed to reimburse the cost of the air ticket of the nurse accompanying him on IA, on the Sharjah-Hyderabad-Sharjah sector.

P.Y. Pareed, working as an office boy, had to undergo an open heart surgery and sought assistance to meet the expected cost of surgery amounting to Rs150,000. After verifying the medical records, the committee decided to pay an amount of Dh4,000 directly to the hospital towards meeting the cost of surgery.

Unnithan, although employed in highly respectable positions in various companies, lost all his money due to several unfortunate incidents. Currently he has a number of financial liability cases pending against him while he lies in hospital with one side paralysed. Since he is unable to pay his hospital bills and he cannot be repatriated till the court cases against him are settled, the ICWC has decided to pay his hospital bills till he recovers or can be sent back to home.


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