Agencies
Iraq, June 21: Hundreds of Indian construction workers may be stranded in Iraq. Working for a construction company in Najaf, these men have not been kidnapped by the ISIS. Instead their wages and passports have been withheld by the employer. Amnesty International, a global human rights watchdog, in a news flash said, they had spoken to some of the men who said they had not been paid by their employer, and that they were worried about their fate given the growing conflict.
Najaf is not in the conflict zone, and is largely Shia-dominated, but instability and violence has been rising in Iraq everyday. According to some of the men spoken to by Amnesty, they have got in touch with the Indian embassy in Baghdad. The embassy has asked them to send their passport details by text message, which they complied. They are now waiting to hear from the Indian authorities.
Amnesty quoted a worker, Daljit Singh (name changed), as saying: "I have been working here for over two years and my employer is withholding more than 1500 US $ of my salary. Most of my colleagues are in the same situation." The workers said their employer had told them that they were safe and would be moved to safer locations if they perceived a threat from the armed groups led by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
China, like India, has thousands of its nationals working for Chinese energy and construction companies in Iraq. In the past couple of days, China too has been making plans to move its people to safer areas. While fighting has been largely concentrated in northern Iraq, the Shia areas in the south have been relatively safe. |
