App to Help Indian Workers Facing Trouble in Gulf Countries

With cases of Indian migrant workers being ill-treated in Gulf countries becoming extremely common, an Indian journalist working in Oman, Rejimon K, has decided to find a way to help his fellow citizens. He has developed an app that can be used by migrant workers to contact relevant authorities without any delay. Named MigCall (short for Migrant Calling), the app has been developed in association with the Migrant Forum in Asia, a Manila-based network that works for the rights of migrant workers in Gulf countries. The helplines are operated by multilingual officials, and callers are currently assisted in six languages , including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil. The app has an SOS button which, when pushed, instantly sends a message to the emergency contact number the user had set during registration. It also provides the GPS location of the nearest Indian embassy or consulate. The app also provides helpline numbers of passport services, counselling services, local police stations, and hospitals. In just a day after the launch, 10,000 people downloaded the app. On the third day after the launch itself, one of the helplines got a call that 13 Indian workers were stranded after their employer confiscated their passports. The helpline led them to the embassy and the issue has now been settled. The app is currently operational in six GCC countries ““ Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is available on Google Play Store.
(You can contact Rejimon by writing to him at [email protected]).
(Extracted from thebetterindia.com)