The movement of Indian workers to the Arab Gulf has deeply influenced the economic and social realities of South India, especially in Kerala. What began as a wave of opportunity during oil-driven boom of the 1970s soon became a defining element in the region’s collective imagination- a phenomenon often referred to as the ‘Gulf dream’. This research article looks closely at how that dream unravels through the lived accounts documented by courageous migrant rights activist Rejimon Kuttappan in the anthology Undocumented Stories of Indian Migrants In The Arab Gulf (2021). Focusing on four stories -“On a Persian Uru”, “The White Car Will Be My Coffin”, “Pakistani Bhais Smuggled Majeed Out Of Oman”, and “All Returned Empty Handed”-the study will examine the emotional fragility, the trafficking of women migrants, their sexual abuse, confiscation of the passport and visa, the issue of return to homeland, legal complications, their arduous journeys to the host country, their utterly vulnerable condition during COVID 19.This article will argue how these migrants’ life was entrapped within the vicious power dynamics. By engaging Judith Butler’s reflections on precarity and Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical philosophy, this study considers the ways in which systems of control-like the Kafala sponsorship arrangement strip individuals of legal recognition and moral visibility. It will also pay close attention to the emotional and ethical undertones. At its heart, the article seeks to centre the voices often left unheard and to reflect on the larger questions of dignity and justice of labour migrants.

Authors:
Shrabana Adhikari, Gujarat University, India

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Posted by James Alexander Gordon

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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