Meet saviour of stranded seafarers
Do at least one good deed a day — is the motto of Girish Pant who is hailed as the saviour or messiah of poor workers or stranded seafarers. Indian expat Pant, who works in the finance department of a UAEbased company, believes in only one religion — humanity. Born and raised in New Delhi but originally from Pithoragarh – Berinag in Uttrakhand, India, Pant is a voluntary social worker who empathises with poor labourers trapped or defrauded by employers, stranded seafarers, or for that matter anyone genuinely in need. He helps them by “legally” sorting out issues, mostly with the help of the Indian consulate.
Pant has been in the UAE from 2008 and has helped out about 500 people of different nationalities, mostly stranded seafarers (100200) or workers left in a lurch by employers. He has also personally repatriated bodies to India, helped workers get outpasses, and even counselled and prevented a few contemplating suicide.
Helping people in distress is a family trait, says Girish Pant, whose grandfather was a freedom fighter of India and whose father is known as a good Samaritan of his town.
Girish has lost count of how many accident victims he has helped while in Delhi where he worked a decade ago. “I would feel pathetic how people would just surround the victim and just stare on
It is not a big deal when you work for yourself or your family, but what adds value to your life is when you sacrifice for strangers. And it’s not tough.” Girish Pant, social worker 500 number of people rescued by Girish pant, mostly seafarers
him or her without helping out.”
From helping people left stranded on road due to car breakdowns or accidents to dealing with cops, counseling friends out of depression, Pant wants to be of help to all, as that is what gives him ‘contentment and happiness’.
“I was jolted by the suicide of my cousin, who took the extreme step as he was heavily under debt and didn’t want to share his problem with anyone. “It was hopelessness and depression that drove him to take this step on December 25, 2013. That hit me hard and from that day on I took upon myself to try and help out whoever I can and however I can.”
In 2013, when floods ravaged his home city Uttrakhand, Pant personally visited the city, with contributions from the people of the UAE. He travelled 38 hours in risky mountainous region with 400kg of relief material to personally deliver aid to the affected people.
The same year, since he was a part of Uttrakhand association in UAE, he received news of a seafarer’s dead body that had to be handed over to his family in India. “I offered to personally hand over the body because I felt what if something like this happens to any of my family members. Wouldn’t I rush to help then? So I do not differentiate on the basis of religion or nationality, for me humanity comes first. The moment I get a call for help, I rush.” Since then, Pant has helped repatriate a number of bodies of Indians back to their home country.
In 2015, twenty-three workers of a contracting company were left in a lurch after their owner fled the country 50 days ago without paying the workers. They were forced to live inside a bus for over a fortnight. Pant stayed in touch with the workers, providing them with food, water and other necessities from his own house. He visited them each and every day after his work hours and also got in touch with the officials at the Ministry of Labour, Dubai Police Human Rights Department, and the Indian Consulate in Dubai who he says were ‘very cooperative’ in the case.
Pant has helped over 100 stranded seafarers by officially taking help of the consulate and other UAE authorities and personally by going to meet them, providing them moral support and counseling.
Pant says that we get this gift of life only once so why not make the most of it by helping others because that will keep you alive in the hearts of people forever and ever. “It is not a big deal when you work for your self or your family, but what adds value to your life and makes you great is when you sacrifice your comfort for strangers. And it is not tough. You just have to place yourself or your family in the victim’s shoes and you will know what to do.
“My purpose of life is to work relentlessly for humanity, make difference in the lives of people to the level that after I go, I still remain in people’s hearts.”
saman@khaleejtimes.com