Rescued from Kuwait, TN youth return to city

CHENNAI: After being trapped in Kuwait for more than a year where the contractor stopped even providing them food when they tried to return, a group of 19 men, most of whom hailed from southern Tamil Nadu, returned home on Thursday.

The men had gone to Kuwait in May 2022 after coming across an advertisement that offered a job with Rs 60,000 per month salary, besides several attractive perks. The travel agency that issued the advertisement selected 19 youngsters, who were asked to pay Rs 1 lakh each for ticket and other expenses.

Their dreams turned sour immediately after reaching Kuwait, after they were paid only Rs 18,000 as against the promised salary of Rs 60,000. Making matters worse, there was no free accommodation and food; they were charged for these basic facilities and then forced to work for long hours.

After being fed up by this, the youngsters asked the agency to send them back to India, but were told that they would have to pay Rs 60,000 if they wanted to break the bond and return. Unable to pay the money, the helpless youngsters continued to work in Kuwait.

In June this year, the agency told them to pay an additional Rs 1.25 lakh per person for visa renewal. This was the last straw. They flatly refused to pay the money for visa renewal, and stopped going to work to put pressure on the agency to send them back.

The agency retaliated by disconnecting power supply to their rooms and even stopped providing them with food. The harassed men finally managed to contact the Indian embassy there and sought help, while their families back in Tamil Nadu urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to rescue the youth and bring them back.

A few days ago, the embassy officials rescued them from the custody of the agents and also arranged their return. On Thursday, they reached Chennai where Minister KS Masthan welcomed them. The authorities arranged transport to take them to their native.