HYDERABAD: A 50-year-old Telugu-speaking woman working as domestic worker in Qatar returned to India in a mentally unstable condition. She had been seen wandering around Delhi airport in first week of August before being noticed by police.
Identified as Narsi Veeramma from West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, she had migrated to the Gulf country in February this year as a household worker. When she lost her mental balance, her employer sent her back. Discovered roaming around the airport listlessly, police shifted her to Earth Saviours Foundation in Gurgaon.
National Workers Welfare Trust (NWWT) chairperson Sister Lissy Joseph, who happened to be in Delhi, came to know about the incident and contacted Delhi police. She brought Veeramma to the city and reunited her with her family.
Sister Lissy told Deccan Chronicle, "What happened to her in the Gulf is a mystery. The woman is unable to express what went wrong with her, as she has lost her mental stability.”
“Veeramma’s is not the only case. We have three more women from Telugu states staying with us," an Earth Saviours Foundation representative told DC over phone from Gurgaon. They are yet to be handed over to their kin, who have not been traced so far.
Madhu, elder son of Veeramma, told this correspondent: "I did not know that my mother was going to the Gulf. By the time I came to know, she had already left the country. I feel really bad that she went to a Gulf country to earn money. I am grateful that she has returned to the country safely."
He said three years ago, Veeramma had suffered a head injury and was treated for it. She was quite normal after that. “She has lost her mental balance only after going to the Gulf. We do not know what happened in the Gulf. We can know details only after my mother comes back to normalcy,” Madhu stated.
Those going to the Gulf for jobs must use proper channels, like Telangana Overseas Manpower Company in TS and Overseas Recruitment Agency in AP. They will then not fall prey to unscrupulous elements.
Sister Lissy said there are many private agencies, which send gullible labour to the Gulf. “It is mandatory that women migrant labourers are first registered with state authorities. However, private agencies flout these norms. If Veeramma had gone to the Gulf through proper channels, she would have been eligible for some insurance coverage. But now, she has to face all consequences herself," the NWWT chairperson remarked.
