By Irfan Mohammed
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Ever since Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Naif announced the campaign of “A Nation without violators” and three-month amnesty period, poor Indian worker Manickam Arumugam saw a ray oh hope.
Ditched and dejected after losing a leg, Arumugam had also lost hope of returning home till the amnesty was announced. On Tuesday he was cheerful to make his journey back home by availing the amnesty.
After months of struggle to remove the Huroob notification against him, he finally returned home after bidding an emotional adieu to fellow community members, who assisted him.
Arumugam, 37, native of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu in India was working as porter in central vegetable market known as Halaqa in Jeddah, for a meager salary and extreme long working hours.
After working for some time he escaped from his sponsor and had been working as attendant in fuel station in Jeddah, according to sources.
On one fateful day, during early morning hours, a speeding car rammed him and ran away, though when he was sitting on pavement of the fuel station after duty hours. He was speaking to his family over phone when the accident occurred.
Arumugam’s right leg was amputated and was bed ridden for the last 5 months. Tamil community members were assisting him is efforts to go home but could not succeed due to the Huroob notification against him.
When the amnesty scheme was announced by the Kingdom, it was a ray of hope for Arumugam and Tamil community workers — Rafia and Susai — who with the help of Indian Consulate successfully completed his exit formalities at deportation center in Shumaisi.
Jeddah Tamil Sangham and Sentamil Nala Mandram along with other organizations came forward to help him.
“We are planning to provide him a sustainable income source in his native place, Peravurani in Tamil Nadu,” said community workers Saher Pandian and Mohammed Siraj.
