Now, Kerala in Afghanistan

Show us the money, we will face the bullets, say Keralites

By Ragesh Nair

Passengers wait at Cochin International Airport

Kochi, Nov 7 : Bombs and bullets, drone attacks, bleak mountains and general destruction are the common images of war-torn Afghanistan.

It would be the last place anyone in his right mind would look for a job. Unless he is the ubiquitous Malayali maverick who, so the joke goes, was ready to serve Neil Armstrong tea when he landed on the moon!

Jokes apart, Afghanistan is the hottest job destination for Keralites who once made a beeline for the Middle East.

According to manpower recruitment agencies, it’s the hefty pay packets that are attracting Keralites to Afghanistan where massive reconstruction is taking place after the Taliban were driven out by invading American forces.

Former president of the All Kerala Manpower Export Association, Mohammad K. Makkar, says there’s a huge demand for labourers in Afghanistan as international companies have set up shop there.

“Particularly electricians, plumbers, welding experts, mechanics, masons and carpenters are in high demand in the US companies. The camp where they stay is called US Labour Camp,” Makkar said.

The US companies prefer labourers from India, particularly Kerala, because they come very cheap compared to labourers from the US. And for Keralites, the salaries are better than those being offered in Saudi Arabia or other Middle East countries. Even though the risks are higher — the US Labour Camps are on Al-Qaeda’s radar — the pay seems to compensate.

According to Paulose K. Mathew, chairman of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), labourers from Kerala are being paid a monthly salary of US$ 1500 (Rs 75,000). Labour from the US or Europe would have to be paid at least US $10,000 a month.

Iraq is another war-torn country that is luring labourers from Kerala for higher salaries than they would get elsewhere. And Libya is expected to go through a period of reconstruction now that it has got rid of Colonel Gaddafi whose last stand has destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure.

Some 50 lakh Keralites work outside India. Saudi Arabia alone employs 20 lakh Keralites. As yet it is unclear how many Keralites work in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, because they are mostly hired from the Middle East.

Emigration rules require that details of the contract, nature and location of job and details of the overseas employer be submitted to the Indian embassy, but many outsourcing agencies, particularly those in the Gulf countries, fly out poorly paid labourers to Afghanistan or Iraq on a visitor’s visa, keeping the Indian Embassy in the dark.

So, it doesn’t come as a surprise when protector of emigrants, Kochi, Mr Adolphus says he is not aware of any Malayalis working in Afghanistan.

“No person has been officially recruited from Kochi to these countries so far. We haven’t given emigration clearance to anyone. May be the workers are going on visit visa,” he said.

Such labour practices can be tricky. Labourers often sign a two-year contract without reading the fine print and land in trouble. Just two months ago, a group of Malayalis in Afghanistan complained that they had been tricked by recruitment agencies.

That will not deter those who hope for a better future for themselves and their families and will follow the money trail wherever it may lead.

Startling facts

* Afghanistan is the hottest job destination for Keralites who once made a beeline for West Asia. According to manpower recruitment agencies, it’s the hefty pay packets that are attracting Keralites to Afghanistan where massive reconstruction is taking place after the Taliban were driven out by invading American forces.

* Iraq is another war-torn country that is luring labourers from Kerala for higher salaries than they would get elsewhere. And Libya is expected to go through a period of reconstruction now that it has got rid of Colonel Gaddafi whose last stand has destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. Some 50 lakh Keralites work outside India. Saudi Arabia alone employs 20 lakh Keralites.