Having lost their jobs, Tamils in Bahrain want to return home

Some want Kollywood actors to sponsor air tickets for labourers

Many Tamils stranded in Bahrain have requested the Tamil Nadu government to arrange flights for their return to the State.

Some of them want Kollywood actors to sponsor air tickets for labourers who have lost their jobs.

Recently, Bharati Tamil Sangam in Bahrain had written to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to help organise flights between Bahrain and Tamil Nadu and help more than 4,000 Tamils to reach their homes safely.

“Since March, many, including me, lost jobs and could not return to India. The government has been providing food and shelter to most of us. However, we want to return home,” said Karthikeyan, a native of Valathur village in Thanjavur.

He was working for a construction firm in Bahrain for the past three years. In a voice message, he said that every day many Tamils waited in front of Indian Embassy hoping to get some information about flights back to their native districts.

“Moreover, some workers want to return home to be with their wives at the time of delivery. Though flights were arranged to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, there are no flights to Tamil Nadu,” he said over a voice message.

M. Muthuvel, assistant general secretary, Bharati Tamil Sangam, said the Tamils stuck in Bahrain wanted the State government to intervene and arrange flights back to Tamil Nadu at the earliest. “We have been providing food and dry rations to many of them. But they will feel better if they reach their hometown,” he said.

Plea to actors

M.N. Ramesh, joint secretary, Rajini Makkal Mandram, Bahrain, said many were stuck here without any money to purchase tickets. “I heard that Malayalam actor Mamooty sponsored the tickets for few Indians stuck abroad. I would request Kollywood actors including Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Suriya, Karthik, Vishal and Dhanush to sponsor some of the tickets and help them return home.