DUBAI: Long queues, desperate hearts and hopeful faces — these days a human drama unfolds outside many an embassy in the UAE. With only two weeks left before the Sep 3 amnesty deadline expires, hundreds of expatriate workers, either overstaying in the country or with no legal papers, are braving the sweltering desert heat to line up for that coveted ‘outpass’ that will guarantee them honourable passage back home.

But some, tempted by the sudden shortage in labour, and the resultant promises of higher wages and better treatment, are willing to take a risk and stay on.

Speaking with the news agency, Malini, a Sri Lankan domestic worker who had overstayed after her visit visa expired in December, said, “I am going to avail of the amnesty. I am tired of having to keep looking over my shoulder and am scared that after September the police will be really strict if they catch me.” But her friend Pushpa is considering staying back. “I have two children to feed and educate back home. Unless I continue to work here, I will not be able to give them a good life. I don’t have a visa or any legal papers, but the thought of my children makes me want to stay back in spite of all the risks,” Pushpa told the news agency.

According to available statistics, more than 110,000 illegal residents have applied to leave the country. About 50,000 have had the chance to legalise their status through new jobs and visas, which is a new approach to make adjustments in the labour market rather than issue new visas to fill the void. The validity of outpasses varies from case to case and residency departments across the country are facilitating the departure of amnesty applicants.

Speaking to presspersons Brig. Mohammad Ghurair Al Rumaithi, director for naturalisation and residence in the interior ministry, said that while more than 110,000 have applied for amnesty, “we expect the number of applications to double by the end of August, the third and last month of the amnesty”. He indicated that close to 50,000 illegal residents who have been able to amend their residency were not working with their original sponsors and were allowed transfer to the companies they are currently working with.

Noor Mohammed, an Indian plumber, who absconded from his legal employer in 2004 and has been working part-time at various establishments since then, said: “My earlier employer used to pay me only 400 dirhams (about $110) a month. Now I earn nearly 1500 dirhams (about $400) and can send home nearly two-thirds.”

But Mohammed told the news agency that he is headed for home. “My relatives tell me that I can easily earn the same money now in India as there is so much work going on there.”

India’s ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmad, said: “The recent economic growth in India will change the employment sector of the Gulf countries, including the UAE, in the long run as the immigration trends and the profile of Indian immigrants are changing. The boom in construction and infrastructure sectors in India has created more employment opportunities with attractive packages so the urge to migrate to the Gulf has lost its charm.” —Dawn/The IPS News Service