Sold to suffer in UAE, 8 Punjabi women rescued by Oberoi’s NGO
AMRITSAR: Eight women from Punjab forced to live like slaves in United Arab Emirates (UAE) were rescued and repatriated on Friday with the efforts of renowned philanthropist and businessman SP Singh Oberoi, who heads the Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust.
Oberoi, who is setting new milestones in the field of social service, has once again become the saviour of these women by spending lakhs of rupees from his own pocket. They landed at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport here on Friday. Another woman will reach in the coming days as she developed some health complication and could not travel.
Oberoi himself welcomed the girls at Amritsar airport, saying, “Due to financial hardships, many parents in Punjab and other states fall prey to greedy agents and send their children to Arab countries in search of jobs. These girls are sold by the agents to landlords or businessmen who exploit them by getting extra work from them. Health of many girls deteriorates and it becomes very difficult for them to get out.”
He said that many such girls from India are stuck in Muscat, Sharjah, Raselkhema and Dubai.
Oberoi said the girls who arrived on Friday cried on the phone and told him about their plight and requested him to send them back to India.
Besides returning the money to their buyers, Oberoi also took care of other expenses such as immigration, stay and air tickets.
Replying to a query during interaction with the media at the airport, Oberoi said it costs between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹3 lakh to bring a person back. He said according to his information, about 200 more girls are still stuck in Arab countries.
Oberoi appealed to the parents to send their daughters abroad only after thorough research so that they do not have to regret it later. He said parents can enquire about a company or its operations from the Sarbat Da Bhala Trust’s office.