Thiruvananthapuram: The economy in Dubai and many parts of the Middle East are collapsing and the impact on Indians is most severe. People are losing their jobs, their wages are not being paid and many are being sent back.
We could be staring at a mass return of immigrants and the human tragedy that results from families in debt.
In fact, many ordinary law abiding Indian citizens are being sent to jail - that's the punishment for a bounced check or for not being able to pay your debts.
From Jawahar Nagar to Secretariat to Thampanoor... it is a safer route says Abdulsalam. This bus conductor's ticket to Dubai last May was a dream turned sour. Abdul got a job as a security guard in an IT firm in Dubai, a salary of 900 dirhams plus food and accommodation. After a month of work his salary was slashed by 200 dirhams.
He had to pay for food and accommodation. His working hours were went upto 16 a day from 10. Abdul underwent a surgery on his back after chronic pain due standing that long.
Another passenger overhearing Abdul reveals he too returned from the gulf four months ago after losing his job as a technician. Then another passenger speaks out about his return from Saudi Arabia last month. They tell me... even the man driving us around returned from the Gulf unable to earn a living.
"I had to drive a water tanker there. I worked almost 24 hours a day. No sleep," said Binu Kumar, driver.
The government has no figures to show how many have returned in the recent past from the Gulf countries.
"There has to be orderly migration. For instance, when the attack on our students in Australia took place, did the government even know how many students have migrated for higher studies? Do they have country specific data?" asked Professor Irudaya Rajan, Chairman, Research Unit on International Migration, CDS.
It's a journey over 2 million people have taken just from Kerala and thousands more from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan. 'Returning' is not even an option for most... fearing stigma of being mocked at - 'a gulf returnee minus the flashy clothes and lot of gold.' Many don't even share with their spouse about their suffering.
The remittance contributed by migrants in Kerala alone was a whopping 43,288 crore rupees last year alone.
"The Philippines embassy takes up for its citizens there. If they are promised a salary and not given the same, the embassy interferes. Our Indian embassy... 'kachara hai' ..." said Abdulsalam, Gulf returnee.
Financial distress, increasing debts, poor living conditions and little help has led to health problems for many migrants. Some have returned to with a hope to explore the few options of employment back home... many others are silently suffering...
As Indians are in deep trouble because of the economic collapse, the Indian government has promised to try and help.
Watch Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor as he talks on the plight of Indian workers.