‘She rescued me from hell’, Telangana Woman rescued from Gulf remembers Sushma Swaraj
HYDERABAD/NIZAMABAD: As the last rites of BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj were performed, citizens of Telangana who were once rescued from Middle Eastern countries due to the former minister’s intervention, thanked the late leader for her help. During her five-year tenure as the Minister of External Affairs, she rescued hundreds of Telangana natives who were trapped in countries like Saudi Arabia.
She used to take cognisance of the SOS tweets put out by city-based activists such as Amjed Ullah Khan, and then direct her officials to do the needful -- a task that her successor Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has also taken up.
Speaking to Express, Tadban resident Zainab Begum, who was rescued from Saudi Arabia in 2017, said: “I suffered a lot in Saudi. I was sure I was going to die there. I cannot thank her enough for rescuing me from that hellhole.” Zainab was allegedly tortured by her kafeel (employer), and she was treated so badly that she used to lock herself in the bathroom to escape the atrocities. Once, while she was in the bathroom, she tried to kill herself by drinking phenyl.
Saidabad resident Amina Begum, who was rescued from Dammam, said: “When I heard that she passed away, I was not able to believe it at first. She rescued me at a time when I was mired in a lot of difficulties. I was given just one meal a day, and I had to literally beg for water.” Swaraj had notified the Indian Embassy on the matter, after which Amina was able to return to India.
Other rescued victims Razia Sultana, Shakera Begum, Syed Sadeq, Ilyas Begum and Anjum Fatima expressed their gratitude towards Swaraj. Activist Amjed Ullah Khan, whose work with trapped migrants made him witness to Swaraj’s work, said: “No foreign minister has been so in touch with NRI’s. She had taken direct interest in solving their problems. The country cannot produce another politician like her.”
Meanwhile, P Basanth Reddy, president of Gulf Welfare and Cultural Association, remembered how Sushma was dedicated to helping out Telangana citizens trapped in Gulf, especially those who were in prison under false charges.