A community organizer talks about his work supporting other migrant workers in Kuwait

English transcript | نسخة عربية

Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Mandoub
Date of interview: 03 August 2020
Language of interview: Hindi

What is the worst thing that can happen to an individual stranded alone in a country that isn’t their own in the midst of a pandemic?

For Ashwin, it wasn’t losing his job, which he took in his stride, volunteering his free time to help Indian migrant workers with paperwork so they could return home. It wasn’t residing in an area that was under strict lockdown, and being forbidden from leaving it. It wasn’t even being unable to afford groceries, as he made do with the little money lent to him by personal contacts and food aid supplied by local community organizations, even making arrangements with them to direct food to those who he knew needed it most.

The worst thing to happen to Ashwin during the pandemic was receiving an email from a lawyer in India, announcing that his wife was divorcing him because he hadn’t been able to send her and their daughter money for months.

Ashwin can communicate in five languages, including Arabic and English. Having worked at the Public Authority for Manpower, he has a little knowledge of the legal system in Kuwait, which has enabled him to assist countless workers with bureaucratic and legal issues. He hopes to continue helping people as long as he can, even offering a shepherd trying to go back to India through the Amnesty program refuge in his room-- an initially short stay that ended up lasting two months when the lockdown hit. Ashwin shares his room with three other people.

He follows a simple philosophy - the same advice he offers many migrant workers that reach out to him desperate to return to their families in their home countries: “You should stay alive. How will you stay alive? We should not worry too much about the future. What are you getting here? You’re getting khuboos-wuboos. Eat whatever you get and be happy. You have a mobile, call home. Don't take too much tension, at present.” Ashwin feels that it is the responsibility of migrant workers to take care of themselves first, and set money aside should any difficulties arise, so that they can be protected. He hopes the families of people who have died in Kuwait because of the Coronavirus will receive compensation. When asked about what he has learnt from this experience, his answer is a surprising one — that this situation is not new to him. “[...] [When] I was a child, I did not have food. I didn't have anything. I didn't have clothes to wear, or a place to sleep. I have come up from a situation like that. Now I have a car. I have everything. Alhumdolillah.” 

In the clip above, Ashwin reflects on the financial struggle and instability brought upon by the pandemic, as experienced by migrant workers.

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