Locked-out Indians Vent Over Vaccine Exports To Saudi
India’s decision to export millions of coronavirus vaccines to Saudi Arabia has ranked its vast alien community, locked out by the kingdom’s months-long flight ban that caused tense diplomatic controversy.
The plight of Indian workers, who make up the kingdom’s largest expatriate community, underscores the turmoil caused by the tightening of coronavirus restrictions as infectious diseases surge during stumbling vaccination drives.
This week, Saudi Arabia has suspended entertainment events as it has suspended entry from 20 countries from the neighboring United Arab Emirates to the United States and the United Kingdom, doubling to stop the spread of the virus.
However, Indian workers were hit hardest by the nearly five-month no-fly zone they say they split their families, sacrificed work and business contracts, and overturned their lives.
Saudi Arabia banned flights from India, Brazil and Argentina last September, trapping hundreds of thousands of Indians abroad.
India’s diplomatic mission’s social media account in Saudi Arabia casts many doubts on New Delhi’s decision to export vaccines before the crisis is resolved, flooded with anger and desperate messages from workers. I will.
“India should not provide vaccines to Saudi Arabia as (the kingdom) has banned flights in India and endangered the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers,” he told the Indian embassy in Riyadh on Twitter. wrote.
This sentiment was repeated by a young Indian engineer who had been locked out since leaving the kingdom last summer to visit a family in northern Uttar Pradesh.
“I’m tweeting (to the authorities) for help day and night, but India only cares about selling vaccines,” he told AFP and demanded that he refrain from his name. ..
However, India, known as the world’s pharmacy, is stepping up global shipments of vaccines developed by British and Swedish companies AstraZeneca in the form of “vaccine diplomacy” with Oxford University, so Indian authorities share the problem. I am careful not to look at it. ..
However, the no-fly zone has been a “great stimulus” for New Delhi in a bright relationship between its allies, two sources involved in the “blunt” debate between both officials told AFP.
“India’s gesture of not linking vaccines to no-fly zones shows that both countries are strategic partners and that Saudi Arabia needs to be careful to reduce the suffering of the Indian workforce,” said one source. The person said.
“But so far, there has been no signal of comfort from Saudi Arabia.”
In a personal meeting with Indian officials, Riyadh officials claimed that the ban was based on “health data,” sources said.
However, Indian officials have pointed out futilely that active incidents in their country are steadily declining, and by this week the kingdom has allowed flights from other, more affected countries, they add. It was.
Saudi Arabia accepts about 2.6 million Indians.
For some workers, keeping them out is intended to reduce the foreign workforce as the economy recovers and the kingdom is pushing for an aggressive “saudization” drive to increase employment for its people. I’m wondering if it’s a strategic strategy.
“Are you keeping us out of the way to get rid of us?” Asked the engineer.
Saudi authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
India is ready to export 10 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produced by the Indian Serum Research Institute to Saudi Arabia, a mission to Riyadh in New Delhi recently wrote daily in Arab News.
Dosages are terribly needed amid slow delivery of the Pfizer Bio-N-Tech vaccine, which has suppressed Saudi Arabia’s vaccination drive and delayed the second dose for many.
India’s vaccine shipments have reached other Gulf countries, including the UAE, but have not yet landed in Saudi Arabia.
There was a delay after the Saudi Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) requested a physical “test” of the serum laboratory facility last month and was rejected by its chief executive officer, Adar Punawara, two sources. The source said.
“The Indian authorities reported to Saudi Arabia were first approved by the United Kingdom and then by India. The Serum Institute is too busy to accept physical examination requests,” said one source. Added.
“But delivery is expected to proceed soon,” after SFDA agreed to a virtual interaction with the lab. The institute did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
But Indian workers have yet to see a solution.
After the no-fly zone, the energetic Indians were able to enter the kingdom via a third country after two weeks of out-of-pocket quarantine. This is an option that most blue-collar workers can’t afford.
But even that window closed on Wednesday after India was selected as one of the 20 banned countries.
“The problem has been exacerbated for Indian workers,” sources said.
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