Gujarati workers on holidays can’t return to Libya, worried

A group of people who returned to Gujarat from Libya before the agitation there started, are on one hand heaving a sigh of relief, and on the other are also uneasy about the uncertainty of their returning back. While some are praying for the well being of their fellow Indians, others are worried about Libya’s future.

But the reason for this is not altruistic. “My future is connected to Libya’s future,” that’s all a senior citizen working in a manufacturing unit in Libya told DNA. The sixty-four-year-old Manoj (name changed) is surprised by the sudden, violent agitation in Libya. “Before I left on January 31, 2011 there was no sign of any disturbance, but it erupted suddenly, like a volcano,” he says.

Manoj said that, “Indians are happy with Gadaffi’s rule, as most of their salaries had seen a hike of over three times in the last few years. I don’t know where this turnaround came from.” Manoj is working in Libya for the past 20 years in a manufacturing unit. Due to legal reasons he has requested anonymity.

“I have been allotted a fully furnished house and I live there happily with my family,” Manoj told DNA on phone from Vadodara. He was to return to the troubled land in the Middle East on March 5, 2011. “Now our going back to Libya is uncertain,” he said. “I have my car and other precious belongings in my bungalow there. I am naturally worried about it,” he said.  Manoj is to retire in 2012. “I don’t remember any day, even informally, when someone has complained about his (Gaddafi’s) rule,” he opines.

He further said that the salaries of people working in the oil companies has gone up  more than 300 times in the last two years. “Most of the Indians are in the oil sector and they have tripled their incomes,” he said.

cluding education, hospitals, schools and even government employees were not happy with the salary hikes in the oil companies. "Due to the recent privatization, many people were not happy as it has also increased the inflation in country," he said. Pravin (name changed), another person who worked in Libya for 10 years and returned to start his own business in Ahmedabad, told DNA that he had earned few lakhs of rupees there and started his business here. "I am really unhappy with the current situation in Libya, I pray it gets back to normal soon," he said.