Imran Qureshi
BBC Hindi, Bengaluru
Bbc
Thomas Gabriel Perera’s family told the BBC that he was the victim of a job scam
The family of an Indian who was shot dead by illegally crossing Israel says he was the victim of a job scam.
Thomas Gabriel Perera was killed by Jordanian security forces by the border with Israel on February 10.
He was attracted to Jordan by the promise of a lucrative job, and when he did not materialize, he tried to enter Israel because he was told that he could find work, his family told the BBC.
Indian reports falling into employment scams and illegally enter other countries to search for work have become increasingly common.
Perera, 47, had been accompanied by his brother-in-law Edison Charlas, who was injured during the shooting. Mr. Charlas was treated in the hospital and spent fifteen prison before being repatriated to India.
The two men came from the state of southern India in Kerala where they worked as a ripe pusher.
An agent had promised them that they could obtain blue collar jobs in Jordan winning 350,000 rupees ($ 4,000; £ 3,110) per month.
Charlas told the BBC that he had paid 210,000 rupees to an agent before leaving India and paid an additional $ 600 after reaching Jordan with a tourist visa.
But when the two men arrived in the capital of Jordan Amman in early February, the agent told them that no job was available.
The agent then suggested that they should try to illegally cross Israel, saying that there were a lot of opportunities there.
On February 10, Mr. Charlas and Perera joined a group that led for hours at the Jordan border with Israel.
“We were taken to a car. It was a long distance. We got into the car at 2 p.m. and reached the location only around midnight. Then we were made to walk several kilometers along a coast. It was by walking in the darkness that we were slaughtered,” said Charlas.
The BBC has seen a letter sent to the Perera family by the Indian Embassy in Jordan. He indicates that “the security forces tried to stop them but they did not listen to the warning, the guards opened fire on them”.
“A ball struck Mr. Thomas (Perera) in his head and he died on the spot. ”
Mr. Charlas, however, challenged this story and said that there was “no warning (guards). They have just drawn”.
“I walked slowly behind the others in the dark … that’s when the ball struck me and I lost consciousness. I had no idea what had happened to Thomas,” he said.
The BBC asked the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Jordanian authorities to comment on the allegation of Mr. Charlas.
Charlas said that he was later taken to the hospital for treatment, then moved between several offices of the Jordanian government before being transferred to prison, where he was held for 18 days.
In prison, he managed to contact his wife and told him what had happened, and his wife contacted officials of the Indian embassy.
Mr. Charlas was expelled in India on February 28.
Perera’s body is still in Jordan. In response to BBC requests, the Indian Foreign Ministry said they worked to bring the body back to India as soon as possible.
“I am told that it will take a day or two for the documentation process and other things to finish,” said Randir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Shashi Tharoor, the deputy representing the district of Perera Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, said that the victim’s identity and that the body’s transport process had started.
Getty images
The Middle East is a popular destination for migrant workers in South Asia, including Indians
Despite many government warnings, many Indians are still practical to scams and take the risk of illegally entering countries to find work, say observers.
“The Modus Operandi must obtain a tourist visa for a country, then enter the neighboring country,” said Ajith Kolassery, CEO of Norka, the government department of Kerala supervising migration.
“No country will accept illegal entry. We have always made opinions to people to be wary of snowshoes, but they still leave.”
In recent years, hundreds of Indians have been saved from scam centers in Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia. They were treated in the centers after being attracted abroad by promises of good jobs.
Dozens of Indian nationals have also been encouraged to fight Russia in war with Ukraine after their offer of false jobs and opportunities to study abroad.
The 100 Indians who were expelled from the United States last month after being accused of having entered the country illegally had also been attracted to the hope of a better life, said Irudaya Rajan, who presides over the International Migration and Development Institute in Thiruvanthapuram.
“They also paid money to agents and were deceived. It is the fight to obtain a better salary (that is to say this),” he said.
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