Book on 1st generation migrants from Malabar

The challenging and sad story of first generation migrants from the South Indian state of Kerala, who reached the shores of the UAE on small boats four to five decades ago, is the theme of a new book by a Dubai-based author, Manu Rahman, who has visited many of the early Keralite migrants from the Malabar region.

Kadal Kadannavar, (Those who Crossed the Sea) contains memoirs of perhaps the oldest surviving member of the Keralite community in the UAE, like James Simon Gomez, who has spent 47 years in Abu Dhabi, after reaching Dubai following a six-day sea voyage.

While many (like Kunjahammed Haji) have left the Indian shores to fight poverty and unemployment in Kerala, not all have succeeded in making it big.

“I haven’t written my story anywhere and it is the first time that a book has documented my experiences as a first-generation expatriate.  I have crossed 80 years and I am happy living in the most secure country in the world. I have travelled all over the world except three countries, Russia, Canada and USA, and I plan to write a detailed account of my experiences in Abu Dhabi soon,” said Simon Gomes, the most senior member of three Indian community associations in Abu Dhabi – viz the Indian Social Center, the Kerala Social Center and Malayali Samajam. 

“From the modern times onwards, Keralites have migrated to different destinations in search of greener pastures. Initially it was to Colombo, Sri Lanka and Malayasia for plantation jobs. With the arrival of oil in the Gulf, many Keralites have started venturing into Gulf, thinking that there is manna and prosperity there.  It was believed that if a Malabari managed to successfully cross the Arabian sea and reach the Gulf region, they could make a new prosperous life. Many of the successful migrants who have returned from the Gulf prompted others too to follow suit,” says Manu Rahman. The launch stories were first published in Chandrika Weekly, a leading literary weekly from Calicut. The editorial team tried to locate as many surviving members of the first generation migrants, who have legally and illegally entered the Gulf region, travelling in small boats.

 “Family is very dear to a Keralite and they tried to take a risk. After venturing into the Gulf, many did not have any contact with their families for months and many have not returned,” he added.  “In the late 1970s there was a major boat tragedy killing several hundred Indians who were travelling to the Gulf. It was only after that tragedy that people started travelling in ships,” he adds. The first generation migrants go to Banglore, Bombay and Calcutta and then travel to the Gulf.

According To Manu Rahman, the author of Kadal Kadannavar, Simon Gomes reached Abu Dhabi when he was 34 years old after retiring from the Indian military, the electrical engineer who hails from Thankashery, Kollam district of Kerala, “Betty David, my best friend and classmate, sent me a visa to Abu Dhabi. He used to work in the British Insulation Company.  Many of my friends have already gone and only a few are left from the first generation Keralites in the UAE,” he says adding that he was a heavy drunkard and chain smoker when he reached here, an ex-military man who served in Ladakh. “I have left all the bad habits and has been living peacefully here for 47 years. I wish to leave to my home country after completing 50 years in the UAE,” he added.  The extreme climatic conditions in Ladakh and in the UAE was one of the several challenges that the first generation NRKs encountered, as the use of electricity, air conditioners and other luxuries were limited. The book is a brief version of several life stories in the Chandrika Weekly. Its editor Shihabudeen Poythunkadavil, a prominent writer, was working in Abu Dhabi for a few years when he encountered the representatives of first generation migrants living in the UAE.

The book narrates his ship travel with 600 passengers, how difficult was the journey from the ship to the port in Dubai on a launch and then the long trip to Abu Dhabi after clearing the customs and emigration checking. “It was a time when anyone with good education could get any jobs here. My monthly salary in Kerala was only 97 Indian Rupees, and I could earn more than that in one day,” he recollects in the book. “I missed a Range Rover taxi from Dubai to Abu Dhabi because I went in search of a foreign exchange counter. I had to travel in an expensive Benz taxi that cost me more. On the way, I found the range rover in a major accident. Many of the friends who came in the ship have died in the accident,” he recollects the day he landed in the UAE.

The book chronicles the story of  who is the first to board a flight from his village and  who has witnessed his co passengers succumb to sea boarn diseases dying in front of him and their dead bodies thrown into the sea. “I have seen sharks eating the flesh of a friend who died on the way due to sea sickness and his body was dumped in the sea. The dead body was covered in a white cloth and thrown in to the river and the sharks have grabbed the fleshy parts, leaving traces of blood in my memoirs. Those horrific scenes continued to haunt me for a long time,” recollected one of the first generation NRKs featured in the book. Most of the first generation NRKs featured in the book have succeeded, despite the initial struggles.

When Navy Mohammed Haji reached Dubai in the late 1950s paid Indian Rupees 100 for the launch travel and when he reached here, there was were only a very few old buildings and there was no electricity. Air conditioner was a luxury for the majority and the first generation migrants survived these harsh living conditions to make a fortune.

Some of the people who started their adventures to the Gulf ended up in the jails or in Karachi. The story of Challikkulathil Ibrahim, who started his overseas journey at the age of 16 finally ended up in Karachi, because of difficult climatic conditions, the launch that he boarded for Dubai landed in Karachi. After working in Karachi for several years, he managed to get a Pakistani passport, and when he tried to return to India, there was a big issue. He could not stay in his own home town of Nadapuram in Calicut because of his Pakistani passport and his story always figured prominently in the Kerala newspapers. The first hand experience of the first generation Keralites who have reached the UAE through launches and ships is replete with their bitter experiences, while travelling via Mumbai and Calcutta to reach the UAE through ships and launches.

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