By IPS Correspondents
DUBAI, Aug 19 2007 (IPS)

Long queues, desperate hearts and hopeful faces – these days a human drama unfolds outside many an embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

With only two weeks left before the Sep.3 amnesty deadline expires, hundreds of expatriate workers, either overstaying in the country or with no legal papers, are braving the sweltering desert heat to line up for that coveted ‘outpass’ that will guarantee them honourable passage back home.

But some, tempted by the sudden shortage in labour, and the resultant promises of higher wages and better treatment, are willing to take a risk and stay on.

Speaking with IPS, Malini, a Sri Lankan domestic worker who had overstayed after her visit visa expired in December, said, ‘‘I am going to avail of the amnesty. I am tired of having to keep looking over my shoulder and am scared that after September the police will be really strict if they catch me.’’

But her friend Pushpa is considering staying back. ‘‘I have two children to feed and educate back home. Unless I continue to work here, I will not be able to give them a good life. I don’t have a visa or any legal papers, but the thought of my children makes me want to stay back in spite of all the risks,’’ Pushpa told IPS.

According to available statistics, more than 110,000 illegal residents have applied to leave the country. About 50,000 have had the chance to legalise their status through new jobs and visas, which is a new approach to make adjustments in the labour market rather than issue new visas to fill the void. The validity of outpasses varies from case to case and residency departments across the country are facilitating the departure of amnesty applicants.

Noor Mohammed, an Indian plumber, who absconded from his legal employer in 2004 and has been working part-time at various establishments since then, said: ‘‘My earlier employer used to pay me only 400 dirhams (about 110 US dollars) a month. Now I earn nearly 1500 dirhams (about 400 US dollars) and can send home nearly two-thirds.’’

But Mohammed told IPS that he is headed for home. ‘’My relatives tell me that I can easily earn the same money now in India as there is so much work going on there.’’

India’s ambassador to the UAE, Talmiz Ahmad, said: ‘‘The recent economic growth in India will change the employment sector of the Gulf countries, including the UAE, in the long run as the immigration trends and the profile of Indian immigrants are changing. The boom in construction and infrastructure sectors in India has created more employment opportunities with attractive packages so the urge to migrate to the Gulf has lost its charm. The number of job seekers including labourers is going to come down in the long run and the situation will change in the UAE also accordingly.’’

Absconding illegals, including housemaids and labourers, are also flooding recruitment agencies to take advantage of the amnesty, get their passports and go back home. While not specifying a breakdown of the types of workers or their nationalities, Al Rumaithi said the majority of illegal residents who applied for amnesty are labourers from the subcontinent.

Nearly 100,000 illegals left the UAE for their homelands during the 2003 amnesty and around 150,000 in 1996.

Though authorities have not indicated whether the amnesty will be extended, they have urged all illegal residents to take advantage of it. If an amnesty seeker gets his formalities completed in the last week of August and finds it difficult to get an air ticket, he or she will be given a month’s grace period to leave the country.

‘‘The country will not tolerate illegal aliens any longer. It is best to leave the country while the amnesty still holds good. Those who fail to make use of the amnesty will face tougher penalties, including jail, fines and deportation,’’ said Al Rumaithi.

‘‘Many of my friends are working till the end of August and may even consider staying back. They want to make as much money as possible to buy gifts and repay loans back home,’’ Mohammed told IPS.

Strict security procedures have been instituted like the taking of fingerprints and pictures to check whether any of the applicants are wanted in a criminal case here, in their home country or by Interpol. Some amnesty seekers who were implicated in criminal cases were arrested when they tried to take advantage of the opportunity to leave.

With the countdown to the end of the amnesty ticking the interior ministry is urging the public through billboards installed on the side of the roads, to cooperate with the authorities and inform them about any illegal residents. After Sep. 3, inspection campaigns will be launched and mobile checkpoints will be set up across the country to arrest illegal residents.

‘‘We request Emiratis and residents not to employ illegal residents or provide them with shelter. People should opt for legal options…those who are entitled to sponsor housemaids, drivers or other labourers, should apply for that,’’ Al Rumaithi urged. The temptation to stay back without legal papers is high because of the demand for labour. ‘‘I have been asked by three families to stay back and work for them. They have offered to let me stay with them and to increase my salary,’’ said an undecided Pushpa.

‘’They have also agreed to let me work part-time in other houses too. I will therefore be able to send almost all the money I earn back home. I am really tempted but the thought of getting caught is quite scary. I have a few more days to decide and I hope I am able to make the right choice," Pushpa said.

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