COVID-19 crisis: More than 100 North East Indians stranded in the UAE

Hill Digest|Dubai: The list of North East Indians stranded in the UAE as a result of the global COVID-19 crisis has crossed 110, according to volunteers. And the number is growing. 

Many of those stranded have lost their jobs and no longer have any source of income. And to make matters worse, if they stay after their residency visas expire, they face fines as high as Dh25 (Rs500) per day according to UAE law. 

While the total number of Indian citizens from the North East’s seven states in the UAE is unknown, many are in a difficult situation as there are no direct international flights to their states. This means many of them will have to first be quarantined, even if they get to leave the UAE, at the first port of arrival at their own expense. They will only be allowed to travel elsewhere in India once they complete the seven-day mandatory quarantine. 

The Indian government has begun repatriation flights from the UAE but the slow process means many stranded will have to wait even longer. According to the Indian Consulate in Dubai, more than 350,000 Indians have registered to return home. Of this, only about 4,500 have been repatriated so far, the majority of them to Kerala. 

Expats from Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland are now appealing to their governments and authorities to help them return to home. 

Calvin Joute from Manipur, who lost his job as a waiter in February, says he’s been asking his family in India to send him money so he can pay his rent and buy basic necessities. 

“My company stopped paying me from February and all my money has run out. I just want to go back home,” says the father of one whose wife and daughter live in Churachandpur district. 

Ngamzamang Lhungdim is also waiting for a flight home along with his colleagues Romen Singh and Benjamin Tonglianmang. All three from Manipur worked at an international fashion chain and were given two options: go on unpaid leave or be terminated. They chose termination.    

The grace period of their visas will expire on June 5. 

“We cannot afford to pay the fines after the grace period and converting our visas to tourist visas costs Dh2,000 (Rs41,200), which is a lot,” says Lhungdim whose wife and twins are in Manipur. 

Ruth Khawbung from Manipur is stressed about her mother and brother who came to the UAE to help her deliver her daughter in December. 

“They were supposed to return in March but then the lockdown happened. Thankfully their tourist visas were extended for free by the UAE until December, but my dad is all alone at home in Manipur and I’m worried about him,” she says. “My mother desperately wants to go home and we are helpless.” 

For Lalchhanchhuaa and his wife Muanpui from Mizoram, the stress of having to wait for a flight out is taking its toll. 

Muanpui’s wellness company has decided to cut her rental allowance and monthly salary from July, while Lanchhanchhuaa, who works in the F&B industry is no longer receiving his salary. 

“Our rent along with electricity and water bills adds up to about Dh5,000 (Rs1 Lakh) a month and we will no longer be able to afford that,” says Lalcchanchhuaa. “I receive Dh400 (Rs8,000) per month from my company as allowance without salary, but that doesn’t even cover half of our monthly expenses.

“We have started selling our furniture and other things to help us tide over. But if we continue to stay here without salary, we will soon run out of money. I don’t know what to do.” 

The couple now desperately want to return home to Mizoram. 

“The Mizoram government is doing everything it can to help us when we reach India, but because we cannot tell them when we’re returning, there’s only so much they can do from their end. They are also helpless.”

(The writer David Tusing is a Dubai based journalist and Editor of Gulf News Tabloid)