Dubai debt crisis likely to hit wokers from Kerala

Naveen Nair , CNN-IBN
Posted on Nov 30, 2009 at 21:32 | Updated Nov 30, 2009 at 23:36

0

Thiruvananthapuram: Economists call Kerala a ‘money order economy,’ precisely for the reason that every third house in Kerala has a man working in the Gulf.

It’s this Malayali's dream to making it big in the Gulf that is in the line of fire when the markets tumbled in Dubai due to the Dubai World debt default.

Finance Minister Thomas Issac said, “It’s very much worrying, lakhs will lose jobs and return and then it could be a social problem.

Many workers who are home for Bakrid holidays fear the worst when they go back.

One such worker, Fatharuddin said, “We don’t know what’s the exact picture since the government is keeping it a secret. There is no surety that our job will be there when we return.”

From among 50 lakh Indians who work in the gulf, the Malayalee diaspora alone account for more than 20 lakh and they bring in more than 25 per cent of the state's GDP as remittance.

So if the markets crash in the Gulf the direct impact will no doubt be on the economy of the state. Not just that the future of two of Kerala's multi-crore projects, the Smart city and the Vallarpadam Shipping Terminal is also uncertain as both have Dubai World as partners.

Meanwhile, some others are still optimistic that sun will never set on Dubai and so is Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi.

Vayalar Ravi said, “This is just a continuation of what struck the Wall Street. There isn’t anything to panic. There will not be any exodus at this point in time. I am sure in two to three weeks time, things will normalise.”

Amidst all the fear and insecurity there is still hope because not many people have returned from the Gulf saying they have lost their jobs. But if the crisis deepens in Dubai World, this could very well be the case. There could be an exodus of workers, which could very well leave the state's economy in complete ruins in the coming months.

More on: Dubai world, debt crisis, kerala, economy