Body of Indian killed in Saudi arrives 49 days after his death

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

The body of Anthony Sami, who was one of the two Indians killed when a missile fired from strife-torn Yemen struck Saudi Arabia's south-western border city of Najran, arrived in Chennai 47 days after his death.

The 61-year-old’s body was received at the airport by his son-in-law Gerald as they prepared to depart to Anthony Sami’s village in Mainoor at Villupuram district.

“We don’t know why it took so long for the embassy to repatriate the body. We had provided all the documents,” said Gerald, who has married the elder daughter of Sami.

Sami has left his village 24 years ago in search for greener pastures and worked as a farm labourer in Najran. He was supposed to come to India in the month of December, said Gerald, who was accompanied by his relatives and friends.

Gerald said that Sami had just planted the saplings at his farm when he heard some noise. Out of curiosity, he went out along with his other Indian friend Mohhamed Kilmi when the rocket struck him.

“He breathed his last after the shell hit him. But at that moment his family had been trying frantically to reach him. They kept on dialing his number until a Saudi man weeping broke the news of his death,” said Gerald.

Kilmi has been buried in Saudi. “We were waiting for his mortal remains. The final rites would be performed at his native place,” said Gerald.

Interestingly, many villages in Villupuram has people working as farm labourers in Saudi. It is a tough life out there in the farms, recounts Arokya Das, who is the relative of Gerald.

“I stayed there for 12 years and returned some seven years ago. I did not get a regular job and though an agent got a job. It all depends on who the owner is. Some owners are cruel an they make you work for 17 hours and won’t even feed you properly,” says Arokya Das.

Gerald, who had been cheated by an agent while getting a visa to Saudi, concurs. He says youth go there as they have no future in the village. Most of the villagers in Villupuram district either migrate to work as coolies or farm labourers in Middle East. Now they are going to Singapore and Malaysia, said Gerald.

“The farm activity in our villages happens for three months and after that we have to work as labourers to earn for our hand to mouth existence,” says Gerald.

Interestingly, the family of Sami has been paid only his four month wages which comes to 4,500 riyals. “We hope they pay his remaining wages of 4,500 saudi riyals,” he says and then asks whether Sami would be compensated for his death, which was not natural