After 38 years of struggle, Indian expat returns home

An Indian national, who had been stranded in the Kingdom for the past 38 years, returned to his homeland yesterday, with the efforts of social activist Salaam Mambatumala.

Athikan Balakrishnan, came to the Kingdom after his schooling with the help of his younger brother, who was working in a factory. “I came here as a labourer 38 years ago and couldn’t return due to various reasons. I am happy that finally I am going back to my homeland,” said Athikan Balakrishnan. 

 “Those days we did not have much job like now. Bahrain was not what you see now. Opportunities were less and I was jobless for initial eight to 10 months. I had to struggle a lot to keep me sustained,” he explained.

Mambatumala, who took the initiatives to save him, said: “When I met him he was in a very depressed. I enquired about him and found out that he did not have any bad record in Bahrain. All these years he had been sacrificing his life for his family in India. In his struggle to survive, Balakrishnan even forgot to marry.” 

When pointed out to him that many times there were amnesty and out passes had been issued for the stranded people, Balakrishnan replied: “I had to sacrifice for the sake of my family. My younger brother got involved in a legal battle. So I had to be here to support him. He then died here. My elder brother, who was working here, also fell ill and had been admitted to Salmaniya Hospital for almost two years.” 

“Meanwhile, my own roommate duped me and went away with my whole savings, which I had kept for my return journey,” Balakrishnan added.

 Currently, Balakrishnan did not have a passport, visa or even a CPR. With the efforts of Mambatumala and the cooperation of the authorities at the Indian Embassy and the Emigrations, Balakrishnan could go back to India yesterday.