Hyderabad: A 40-year-old man from Hyderabad who has been stuck in the Saudi desert without adequate food and water for a year is suffering from mental illness due to the torture inflicted upon him by his employer.
Mr Md Sadeq went to Saudi Arabia last year, after paying an agent Rs 1 lakh. Since then he has been left in charge of a dozen camels in the desert, where he lives alone. His employer gives him ten litres of water and a little bit of food twice a month.
Mr Sadeq, a resident of Talabkatta in the Old City, went on a “helper” visa in June last year. “We paid Rs 1 lakh to Arshad, an agent from Attapur. He arranged for the visa and said that my son would be paid a monthly salary of Rs 1,200 Saudi Riyal,” says Mr Syed Ali, Mr Sadeq’s father.
Upon his arrival in Riyadh, Mr Sadeq was taken to the Al Hasa province in eastern Saudi Arabia, where was asked to take care of the camels. “My son has called me only twice. Friends who met him in Riyadh said that he was suffering from psychological problems and was in need of urgent medical attention,” said Mr Syed Ali.
The employer visits the camel farm in order to ensure that his animals are healthy and well-fed, but he does not seem to care about Mr Sadeq’s condition. Mr Sadeq has not been paid so far.
Mr Syed Ali tried to reach out to the employer through some relatives. He was told that the employer had paid several thousand Saudi Riyals to the agents for an employee. After going out of reach of his family, Mr Sadeq accidentally bumped into some Hyderabadis working in the area, and they reported back to his family regarding his condition. The family has requested external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for help.
