“I had worked in several Gulf countries for almost 20 years as a driver and painter. During my tenure there as a migrant worker, I practically witnessed the atrocities faced by migrant workers. That’s when I decided to move back to India to work for the rights of migrant workers full-time.

After returning to India in 2004, I decided that no one else should go through what I did. I started the Gulf Returning Members Welfare Society in 2009 to fight the cases of migrant workers and have been working for the rights of migrant workers.

I am also actively working on providing the fair compensation act from the respective companies in case of a migrant worker’s death in a workplace accident and, in the case of death due to the negligence of the agent, obtained compensation for the loss from the agent. There were many incidents where the owners were held responsible and compensations were given, apart from the fact that they were sent with fake visas.

I also worked for the justice of the victims to the attention of the governments and to convince the governments to establish a special department for the Gulf victims.

Despite all these efforts, I still receive threatening calls every day from the fraudsters. But that’s alright. I am not going to give up until the system overpowers the flaws!”

• Mr. Shaik Chand Pasha, Social Activist & founder of Gulf Returning Members Welfare Society from Jagityal