Hyderabadi, paralysed and stranded in Saudi, wants to return home before dying

Distressed NRI Mohammed Shafiquddin in Riyadh

Jeddah: Even as the world is slowly getting over the fear of the Covid-19 pandemic, there are victims of the coronavirus who are still unable to come out of the misery that the lockdowns inflicted upon them.

Mohammed Shafiquddin, 54, a native of Secunderabad, was working in Ahsa town in Saudi Arabia for a long time. He was operating a laundry and also working as a private car driver. He was barely making ends meet when the pandemic hit him, and it hit hard. The lockdown deprived him of his income as a driver. At the same time, the laundry too went out of business, but the lease that he had to pay kept mounting. Forget paying rent, for which he had no source at all, Shafiquddin found himself without a penny to feed himself or even buy essential medicines for his chronic diabetes condition and a neurology disorder.

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Unable to pay the rent and lease amounts, he was taken to court, which ordered him to settle the pending payments apart from slapping a travel ban till the money was paid. Back home, his family too could not do much as they too were pushed into deep financial crisis by the pandemic. In the meanwhile, his Iqama (residence permit issued to expatriates who reach Saudi Arabia on an employment visa) also expired, making him an illegal resident in the kingdom. Out of insurance on account of the Iqama expiring, Shafiquddin could not even see a doctor when his health started deteriorating further.

The misery did not stop there. Paralysis hit him. In a bid to somehow get help to go home to India, Shafiquddin reached the Indian Embassy in a state of paralysis, following which Embassy staff shifted him to a polyclinic, from where he was moved into a private facility after some time on a temporary basis. Since he is unable to move on his own, nursing care is being provided by the Indian Embassy. A nurse visits him daily to check his condition and change diapers.

Indian Community workers Shihab Kottukad, Muzammil (0556473503) and Mohammed Abul Jabbar (0502345839) have been working to help the bedridden Shafiquddin, trying to settle his amount in the court and help him return home.

“There was no room to negotiate, as it was a court order and he has to comply by paying the due amount,” an official said about the amount. Shafiquddin, losing his voice too slowly, is now praying that someone helps him to reach home before he dies.