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Kerala CM Vijayan meets workers in Dubai labour camp

Dubai - The visiting dignitary was shown around the facilities at the camp where about 3,600 workers live.

A large number of blue-collared workers assembled in front of a labour camp in Al Quoz on Wednesday evening to get a glimpse of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a popular working class leader, who is in the UAE on an official visit.
The visiting dignitary was shown around the facilities - gymnasium, sports facilities, canteen, medical centres, etc. - at the camp where about 3,600 workers live.
While hundreds of Asian workers, mainly Keralites, waited outside the camp, many of them got a just glance of the CM.
Speaking to a limited number of workers and media, Pinarayi Vijayan said: "As part of my first official visit to the UAE, I wanted to visit at least one labour camp in Dubai where our workers are living. I am visiting a camp identified by the Indian Embassy. Life (of expatriate Keralites) in the Gulf is different from life in Kerala. However, one of the main reasons for Kerala's prosperity is the support and remittance from overseas Keralites."
The leader addressed the workers briefly in the public events arena. He said the government of Kerala was aware of the problems of the expatriates. "I will take every necessary and important step for the overseas Keralite community," he said amidst applause .
"We are happy that our Chief Minister has visited a labour camp in Al Quoz where thousands of us reside," said a Keralite driver who lives in a camp next to the one visited by the minister.
"I have been living in Dubai for 22 years and am happy to see the CM. I finished my duty early to wait out side the camp that he is going to visit," said Ravindran, a driver residing in Al Quoz.
Harikumar, a senior citizen, said the minister should look into problems like high airfare, and there is a need for a pension scheme."
Vijayan, another blue-collared worker living in Al Quoz, said: "I have come to meet my leader because it is a rare chance to do so in Dubai. He is a good leader doing something good to solve the financial problems caused by currency ban. Our families back home are facing problems."