Expats caught between Hazare and their jobs

Indian expatriates from the UAE who are in New Delhi to join the mass agitation against corruption spearheaded by activist Anna Hazare, are now in a fix.

Many of them went to participate in a peaceful protest inside JP Park for a few days and aimed to return to the UAE to resume work.

Now, the protest has taken on an indefinite hue and the expats are torn between their fight for corruption and staying employed in the UAE.

On Tuesday night, Anna Hazare refused to leave jail, with the Indian Government is seriously discussing various ways to resolve the situation, before it goes out of control.

Huge crowds were gathering outside Tihar jail, where Hazare is currently lodged.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7 from an open stadium converted into a jail by the Delhi Police for Hazare supporters, Advocate KK Saratchandra Bose, a social worker from Dubai who is leading the expat group there said: “We are inside an open jail now with around 1,000 people. There is no proper drinking water, sanitation facility or food. I have been fasting yesterday and today. Yesterday night, the police announced that Anna Hazare will be released and those protestors who want to leave can go out. However, we learned that it is a tactic to disperse the growing crowd.”

He said there are thousands of Anna Hazare supporters and anti-corruption crusaders waiting outside the stadium.

Hazare is inside Tihar Jail, where many Indian ministers accused of corruption - Suresh Kalmadi, of the Commonwealth Games scandal and A Raja, Telecom Minister - are currently imprisoned.

Currently 12 non-resident Indians from the UAE are in the protest area and two have courted arrest.

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“I will decide by evening what to do. Our Group members, Madhavan, De Silva, Suman, Gulati and others are protesting outside.  I may return to Dubai and will come back again to participate in the protest movement. I have fixed some business meeting for Thursday,” he added.

Meanwhile back in the UAE, Indians are looking to support the protest from afar. Narayanan Veliancode of the Dubai Art Lovers Association (Dala), adds, “The last time Anna Hazare went on an indefinite strike, many NRIs joined a candle light protest at the Jumeirah beach. This time, some NRIs have joined the protest movement in India, but social networking sites here are seeing a lot of pro-Hazare action.”