'Life in Angola jail was like hell’

Ramji Nakum had been waiting anxiously for nearly half-an-hour at Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad for his son, Mukesh, who was returning from Angola. His face broke into a smile as soon he saw his son at the baggage claim area of the airport.

Mukesh and two other workers from Gujarat were among the 29 Indians who safely returned home from Angola on Saturday. Mukesh was among the hundreds of Indian workers stranded in Sumbe town of the African country after a bitter strike at a cement plant there. The two other Gujaratis — Jignesh Prajapati and Ashish Maheshwari — landed at Vadodara.

A native of Gadhaka village in Jamnagar district, Mukesh was among the 22 Indian workers who were rounded up by the local police and produced in a court which fined them $40,000. He said that he had lost two cell phones, a chain and Rs 40000 and $800 in cash during the Sumbe crisis but all that loss was nothing compared to the torture he had suffered while lodged in jail there.

“Now that I am in India, I feel free. It was like hell out there. Not everyone is lucky but we were fortunate to get help from some Gujarati businessmen living there. At the time, returning home safely looked impossible as the company officials were behind all the trouble. Ironically, those officials slipped away and are now living happily in a Gulf country,” Mukesh said. He added that he would be heading straight to Pavagadh to take the blessings of Mahakali.

Recalling the 25 days he spent in an Angolan jail, Mukesh said that it seemed that the authorities had lost all humanity.

“Our meal was one loaf of bread. There was no water supply or other basic amenities. It was hell,” he said. According to Mukesh, there are 40 more Gujaratis still in jail there waiting for freedom.

Ramji Nakum, who is a farmer, is reluctant to send his son abroad again. “It is out of the question. I will not allow him to leave Indian shores anymore,” he said emotionally.

But Mukesh is not averse to going abroad again. He said that if there is a good opportunity, one should definitely try.

According to Mukesh, there are many companies which make many promises but don’t deliver.

“I had gone to Angola on a visitor’s visa as the agent had promised me a work visa on arrival in Angola. But five months have passed and I am still waiting for my work visa,” he said.