Sir, The devastating blaze in Kuwait which claimed the lives of 49 people, predominantly Indians mostly from Kerala, is perhaps the worst incident of its kind involving migrant labourers in West Asia in decades. This incident underscores the substandard living conditions under which these guest workers live in GCC countries which are overcrowded with inadequate safety provisions. This tragic event is a grim reminder of the ongoing exploitation of migrant labourers.

The preliminary investigations done by the Kuwaiti authorities point towards overcrowding of accommodation and the violation of fire safety provisions. These workers have substantially contributed towards the development of massive projects like airports, sea ports, highways and skyscrapers, but their living conditions are deplorable. It is our bounden duty to see the well being of these workers.

Labour attaches in Indian missions in GCC countries should have adequate staff who should visit the labour camps of these migrant workers to see their living conditions. Besides, their complaints should be immediately addressed by the Indian mission.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

The government of India deserves praise for its alacrity in reaching out to non-resident Indians in distress. Whether it was during the Gulf-war in 1990, stranded Indians in Yemen in 2015, or evacuation of Indian students from Wuhan province in China this year, the Indian government has always reached out to help.

This is the perfect example of how much government of India cares for its countrymen in distress, and uses all resources on its command to help them.

In all these rescue operations undertaken by the government of India, state-owned carrier Air India has always played a formidable role and it should be applauded for its services. Even now, it is Air India that flew to China to bring back Indian students from Wuhan, which is the epicentre of coronavirus.

Modi government has followed the glorious record of all the past Indian governments in reaching out to Indians in-distress abroad. Gulf war was biggest ever evacuation undertaken by India. Thousands of Indians stranded in Iraq during Iraq and Iran war were evacuated from the conflict zone.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

I would like to bring to the attention of the Indian government the issue of repatriating bodies of Indian nationals who pass away in foreign lands. It is an important humanitarian issue and our government should take all possible measures to ensure smooth service to our countrymen living abroad particula rly in the GCC countries. The current procedures are too complicated and take a lot of time. It only adds to the agony of those who lose their loved ones and are left at the mercy of officials of host countries and the Indian consulates and embassies.

The Indian government should devise an effective mechanism to ensure speedy repatriation of the mortal remains of the Indian nations. Qatar has done a great job by opening a Humanitarian Services Office to expedite repatriation of the bodies of those who die in Qatar to their home countries. It is a one-window system and has eased the formalities for the process. It has reduced the entire process into a few-hour formality, which is very commendable.

The Indian government should take this issue very seriously and instruct all Indian embassies in the Gulf countries to work on a similar mechanism.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Sir - It was a historical decision taken by the Government of Abu Dhabi, UAE, to allow the use of Hindi as the third language besides Arabic and English in its judicial system.

This move will certainly help Indian expatriates in the case of any litigation proceedings. A bilingual judicial system assures clarity and transparency.

Hindi speaking expatriates can lodge claims and submit grievances in their mother tongue now.

(2) Hindi as the third court language,
Khaleej times, 13th Feb, 2019, L.E

It is a historical decision by the government to allow the use of Hindi as the third language, beside Arabic and English, in Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

This move will help Indian expatriates in case of any litigation proceedings in the UAE. A trilingual judicial system definitely assures clarity, transparency for the large number of non-Arabic population in case of litigation proceedings. The UAE has a large number of Indian expatriates, and this move will also help large number of Hindi speaking expatriates to lodge claims and submit grievances.

This move itself is the fitting recognition for the large contribution made by the India community here in all spheres. In fact, the Indian community has been partnering all efforts in economic and social development of the UAE.

Ramesh G jethwani is a Veteran writer, Voracious reader, Historian and Commentator who has been writing in 21 newspapers in India and GCC countries for several decades on various subjects of importance.
His website www: rameshjethwani.com.

Indians should be evacuated from Libya on war footing before EU declares it a no fly zone. In Libya, unlike in Tunisia, Yemen and Bahrain, there is a civil war situation and a large number of people have died. There is complete breakdown of the administrative structure. Indians working on infrastructure projects and in oilfields should immediately be brought out of the country.

India should complete evacuation from Libya on war footing. Although many countries have already completed evacuations of their nationals from Libya and India also started, it should be speeded up on a war scale evacuation basis before a no-fly zone over Libya is imposed. One can understand the agony of the Indians stranded in Libya. Unlike uprisings elsewhere, the revolt in Libya has assumed the shape of a civil war and already a large number of people have died. Hence those Indians, especially who are far away from major cities in oil fields and at sites of large infrastructure projects, must be evacuated at the earliest.

As India enjoys an excellent rapport with Arab governments, it should focus on making an evacuation strategy with their help and should get its nationals out of Libya. They can perhaps be taken to neighbouring countries. From there an air bridge can be set up for bringing women, children and the sick back home and the men can be sent home 
by ship.

India has begun evacuating its nationals from strife torn Libya after several other countries have already completed the process (1,000 Indians still stranded in Libya, Mar.1). We will have to speed up the process before the European Union imposes a no-fly zone over Libya. One can understand the agony Indians in Libya and their families back home, are going through. What makes the situation all the more dangerous is the fact that mass looting is going on with the administration losing control over the country.

Maybe, the best thing to do would be to get trapped Indians to nearby nations like Egypt, Tunisia and Malta from where they can be airlifted.