Translation app helps six Indians escape Russian war
A translation app developed by tech giant Google has helped six youth from Kerala narrowly escape from being recruited in Russia to be engaged in the war in Ukraine.
This comes amid reports that several Indians have been duped by recruiting agents into fighting for Russia.
Speaking to The Hindu, Jaison George (name changed), a native of Thekkumbhagam in Kollam, said he and five others had reached Russia on February 19.
Service charges
They were offered security jobs by the agent from Thiruvananthapuram, who had earlier trafficked four youth from Thiruvananthapuram to Russia. “Soon after we landed in Moscow, a man took us to a hostel and to a military base on the northeast of Russia. During the journey to the base, we were told that we would man the Army’s security installations and hence should undergo a threeweek military training,” Mr. George, a commerce graduate, said, adding that that the agent “charged each of us his service charge, ranging from $1,350 to $1,500”.
The next day, they were told to sign a oneyear agreement before joining the service. The agreement was written in Russian. They were told to sign it quickly. “Seeing the haste of the proceedings, we sought time to read the documents,” he said.
As frontline soldiers
“As we read the document with the help of Google Translate, we realised the magnitude of the trap we were in. It was clearly mentioned that we had been recruited to fight against the Ukraine Army as frontline soldiers. Upon successful completion of the term, we would be offered permanent resident status in Russia and Russian passport, among other things. Without a second thought, we tore up the agreement and sought permission to return to India,” he said.
They were shifted to a hostel nearby. There they reached out to a subagent in Thiruvananthapuram, who told them not to sign the agreement. He then arranged flight tickets for them. On February 26, they landed in India. Soon after, one tried to commit suicide as he had paid ₹6 lakh to the agents. The subagent gave the youth a sum of ₹2.5 lakh.
All the victims hail from poor families and had borrowed from moneylenders. Mr. George has been staying in Mumbai since his return. “I can’t go home emptyhanded as my father, an auto driver, had borrowed the money from a loan shark. Here, I am trying to find a job. Otherwise, my entire family will have to commit suicide,” he said.
Binu Panicker, president, All Moscow Malayalees Association, who helped them get back home, said the association realised the gravity of the situation only after seeing a copy of the agreement they shared.
Mr. Pancikar, along with the Indian Embassy had also helped repatriate two other youth from Kerala who were similarly tricked into fighting for Russia and were injured in the warzone. He said efforts were on to bring back two more persons trapped in Russia. (Those in distress may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline 01140769002)