ShareNurses are the cornerstone of the healthcare sector, but unfortunately, they rarely get recognized or thanked. They have always been taken for granted and their silence taken as approval, because while we are busy addressing the healthcare situation, we forget about the problems faced by nurses.
In 2015, a new case known as "the issue of nurses' remittances" came up. The case is pending before the judiciary since 2015, when the owner of an employment agency was prosecuted by the public prosecution on charges of imposing financial charges on Indian nurses seeking to travel to work in Kuwait and other foreign countries. They were forced to transfer the charges through exchange channels under the guise of remittances.
The case came to light after reports were published in the Indian press about a private agency illegally taking money from nurses desiring to work in Kuwait. Indian authorities began to investigate the issue that ended up with the judiciary, as the case turned into a money laundering crime. The investigation now extends to the possible involvement of Kuwaitis, who may have a hand in the matter.
The truth must be revealed. There is an agreement between Kuwait and India to cooperate in the fight against money laundering. Kuwait must cooperate in this investigation and should not protect anyone if they are found guilty, even if they only had a finger in the crime. It is natural that the ministry of health in Kuwait denies these allegations, but this does not mean that the issue should not be investigated, because the ministry is supposed to have mechanisms to follow up this matter - how it began and who benefited from it. I understand the Indian position and their desire to protect their citizens.
The government of India has restricted since May 2015 the recruitment of nurses through a few designated state-run recruiting agencies and placed nurses under the ECR (Emigration Check Required) regime so that emigration clearance through E-Migrate becomes mandatory for them for employment in any of the 18 ECR countries. Six state manpower corporations in India have been authorized for recruitment of Indian nurses abroad.
Besides Kuwait, emigration clearance is required for 16 other nations, namely Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, UAE and Yemen. The process of recruitment of Indian nurses under the E-Migrate system is easy and transparent. Recruiting agencies in Kuwait who wish to recruit Indian nurses should register themselves with this system.
Nurses don't get sufficient recognition, either from hospitals or the society, so their desperation to land a decent job abroad quickly leads them to fall victim to money laundering gangs. These women who have paid a lot of money to get a job should be compensated when the damage is proven in court. This is the recognition they should receive to carry on with their work of saving lives - including their own.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
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