Non Resident Indians or Not Respected Indians?

It has happened to almost every NRI, but we remain obnoxious. It happens in every country we people set foot on, but we care less. And in Saudi Arabia, it is a nightmare if you get stuck at a security check point. At check points, we slow down, wind down the windows, lower volume of the player, switch on the lights deliberately, just to enable the Policemen to check us, no matter how many ever check points are put up. I had the a literal 'nightmare' when once on a long drive i was fast asleep. When the vehicle screeched to a halt abruptly, i opened my eyes to stare straight to the barrels of a machine gun. Trust me, it isnt funny. The check point was unexpected and to wake from a slumber and look directly into the machine gun was really scary. We were let off after our local ID and passport checks, luckily. My another Indian friend was not so lucky.

He is a manager in a corporate company going for a meeting in Jubail Industrial Area. Now in KSA, almost all oil installations come with tiered security, with umpteen number of gates. The Guards manning the gates are well trained,elite security group with all sophisticated weapons. My friend had gone for a meeting inside a plant with three more Indians, all his colleagues. Now the gentleman manning the gate was interested in playing with this group of expats- black skinned Indians. He asked their company car to be parked on side lanes and gestured for two of them to get down from the car. After a thorough check of them, including patting down, he asked them to get in the car and asked the other two to get out. The checked ones were asked to sit inside the car. When they tried to ask what the problem was, they were with proper ID cards, in company vehicle and with a valid permit to enter the plant, the answer from this man was- " My boss doesn't like you, you no good." When my friend explained he was the manager, he said again- ' You mudhir? No good, bad Mudhir'( mudhir here means manager!). Then again the two were sent inside and the other two asked to come out and stand. The set of victims was changed frequently and they were made to stand in pairs on either sides of the road with cars zooming past. All this, simply because the Guard wanted to pass some time ragging the Indians. The game went on for 45 minutes and with numerous insults like-' You no good, You bad man'. Finally he got bored ragging them and let them off.

In another incident another Indian Engineer was made to sit in crouching position on the side lane for an hour, for the only reason, the Guard did not like him! I wonder why they do this to Indians. You can see Europeans and Americans treated with utmost respect, and to treat a manager like this in the eyes of his juniors is nauseating. In a recent news issue, we all came across a group of Indian students being kept under radio-tagging in the US, simply because the university where they were enrolled was a fake one. Why victimise the students like this, Big Brother? They came to study after all.

Doesnt that sound inhuman and insulting? And what do these poor Indians who take up jobs and studies abroad look like to Big Brother and to Saudi Arabia? But the happiest part is, these NRIs are given a Hero's welcome when back in India. They are well respected, well taken care of and revered. All this hoopla comes at the price of our self respect? Our freedom? Yes, of course. But we don't bother! To us, the dollars and riyals are dearer than self respect...