KATHMANDU, July 16: A total of 54 Nepali workers who went to the UAE for foreign employment have been held hostage for over a month. They were recruited by the Osho Recruiting Agency Pvt Ltd for gardening jobs at the Tornado Group in the UAE. Mithu Paswan from Mahottari, one of the hostages, claimed that there is no work for them as stated in the labor contract.

Paswan, who was held hostage at a location called Highland in Dubai, said, "We have been treated like animals for a month, locked up without food or water. Over 25 Nepali friends are crammed into one room. Some have succumbed to the heat, and we have no drinking water. We fear some might even die of hunger."

The victim stated that 54 other Nepalis were being held hostage in a room on the opposite side of the same building. These individuals arrived in the UAE in two groups through Osho Recruiting Agency Pvt Ltd. The victims said that the second group, arriving on June 13, and the first group before that, were deceived into thinking that they were coming for garden work but were instead taken to dense forests near the Saudi Arabia border, where they were assigned tasks like forest management and date picking.

"We were left in a large jungle about four hours away from the city as soon as we arrived from Nepal. When we questioned why we were brought here, they said our work was to look after this jungle. We were supposed to survey this jungle, harvest dates, and also do some farming together," said hostage Mithu Paswan. "There were big snakes coming out. I was scared, it was a dense jungle. There were no houses. If someone fell ill, there was no place for treatment or accommodation,” he added.

While Paswan was speaking via IMO, another victim snatched the phone and told Republica, "That forest was extremely frightening. We were used to farming in our village. How are we supposed to work after the middleman promised a gardening job in Dubai but abandoned us in a jungle? That wasn't what we had signed up for. They deceived us to this extent; when we refused to work in these conditions, they locked us up in a room."

According to him, they have spent a month without being given any food. "We survived because some of our friends brought extra money from Nepal. Now, they have also run out of money. One friend paid 10 dirhams to get Wi-Fi for a few days, so I am talking to you," he said. "Please take initiatives for our rescue," he added.

The victim, Paswan, stated that he resorted to asking others for food because he was unable to eat on his own. He alleged that Osho Manpower took Rs 200,000 from him under a labor contract, promising work planting and cutting flower plants in a garden. Pasman recalled receiving only 1200 dirhams (equivalent to 43,668 Nepalese rupees) as his meager salary.

Some of the victims who arrived in the UAE in two groups from Nepal claimed they paid between Rs 175,000 and Rs 300,000 to Phulbabu Yadav, an agent associated with Osho Manpower, while others paid directly to Osho Manpower. The hostage victim stated that the first group of 38 people came through Osho Manpower, while the remaining members reached there in the second group.

Rudal Shah, another victim of the hostage situation, revealed that Osho Manpower initially promised a salary of 1,200 dirhams for garden work in the UAE. However, upon arrival, he was coerced into accepting only 600 dirhams, along with an additional 200 dirhams (equivalent to 29,112 Nepalese rupees) for food expenses.

"We were told by Osho that we would be paid 1200 dirhams," he said, "but an Indian woman here forced us to settle for 600 plus 200 UAE currency, claiming that this is what Nepal's Osho Manpower had sent us for," he added.

The victim claimed that they informed Osho Manpower, but received no response. Furthermore, the victim stated that videos and photos of all the locked rooms were also sent to Osho Manpower.

"We are in a dire situation. We pleaded with both the agent and Osho Manpower to send us back to Nepal. However, they ignored our pleas. We felt deceived as we were promised free visas and tickets, but now we are stranded," said victim Shah. The victims complained that both the agent and the manpower have taken millions of rupees from them under false pretenses.

When they contacted the agent and manpower, they reportedly received outright threats and were told, "Do whatever you feel like doing." They mentioned that they contacted Republica under compulsion. "Even though animals are tied in a cage, they are fed and given water on time," they said. "But we are humans, not animals. We cannot endure this anymore. We might die of starvation here while we expect them to provide us with jobs,” they added.

Jinu Paswan, on behalf of his family, has filed an application at the Mahottari District Administration Office in Jalambri seeking 'rescue' for Mithu Pasman, 32, a hostage victim. The victim has requested repatriation, citing the lack of work as per the contract and deplorable living conditions akin to being treated like animals in their accommodation.

The 54 people who reached the UAE are seeking assistance to safely return home. They are worried about the perception of others, considering the misconduct allegedly committed by Nepali government-affiliated manpower agents against the workers.

List of Nepali nationals held hostage

Rudal Shah, Krishna Bahadur Badahi, Suryanarayan Shah, Shankar Pandit, Abhay Kumar Mandal, Suryaman Kumar Mandal, Dhiraj Kumar Mandal, Kuldeep Sada, Upendra Sada Musahar, Sikindra Mandal, Satrohan Thakur, Ramkishor Mandal Dhanuk, Shitesh Kumar Mandal, Abhishek Chaudhary, Satilal Urab, Birkumar Urab, Mithu Pasman, Hareram Pandit, Krishna Urab, Suraj Pasman, Bitu Pasman, Sameer Kumar Mandal, Lalbabu Mukhia, Sanjeeb Chaudhary, Gurusaran Khatwe, Keshab Kumar Khatwe, Ramkrishna Mahara, Ali Susan Sekh, Shivakumar Chamaar, Alam Raain, Moin Sikalgar, Ashraf Sikalgar, Amit Kumar Yadav, Sudhir Mandal, Indrajit Prasad Launya, Ramkisan Yadav, Deepak Kumar Mandal, Dipendra Yadav, Manoj Chamar, Saroj Musalman, Munna Teli, Krishna Ram, Ramkumar Ram.

Published on: 17 July 2024 | My Republica