Exploited, duped trucker slams brake on dicey job; driver plunges into deep financial Gulf

Narinder Thappa had big dreams.

The Nepali wanted to marry off his two younger sisters, and buy a two-bedroom apartment for himself. His father had retired as a factory worker.Being eldest of the brood of three, the 32-year-old was sandwiched between responsibilities.

Though Narinder was employed as a truck driver, he was struggling to financially support his family. Narinder always wanted to emulate the success of his friends who were drawing fat tax-free salaries in the Persian Gulf. But somehow the Gulf-dream kept eluding him like a mirage.

That, however, changed one day. A Gulf-returned friend informed him of an ongoing recruitment drive for a Gulf country, and gave him a few pointers on the selection process. Armed with the advice, Narinder descended on the office of the recruitment agent, and with that began the preparations.

Everything went off like clockwork for him. He successfully passed the interview, even as the recruitment agent informed him that his visa would be ready within a few weeks.

He then told Narinder that he would have to fork out CAN $ 2,500 as the recruitment fee.Narinder found himself in a quandary as how to raise that kind of money. Being the sole bread winner of the family, he had a measly $200 in savings.

Closing ranks behind him, his family managed to get a bank loan for him. All preparations were done for his journey to the cradle-to-grave welfare state.

Narinder finally bid a tearful farewell to his family, and boarded the flight with a heavy heart.Upon landing in the Gulf country, a feeling of joy blanketed him. He was ecstatic to see the glitzy cars, swanky malls and well-paved roads---a far cry from his home country.

Everything was going on fine until his supervisor informed him that he is being transferred to Iraq as the company had secured a fresh contract there. Narinder offered stiff resistance to the proposal, but was told in no uncertain terms that he would be sent back if he failed to comply. This was in stark violation of his work contract.

Narinder explored every possible channel to highlight his plight but failed in his efforts. With a huge debt to pay off, Narinder had little choice but to take up the dangerous assignment much to his chagrin. Once in Iraq, he was driving his truck near violence-torn Fallujah region when he came under heavy sniper fire.

Narinder managed to dodge the bullets, and drove to safety.Horrified by the ordeal, Narinder told his supervisor that he will not take the wheel again, and soon his supervisor allegedly began harassing him. 

Narinder stuck to his guns and with no solution in sight, he was repatriated last month.His family was devastated, but sympathized with him. He is now sinking in debt and each passing day is piling on his misery.

“This is like a death sentence to me, and my family. I don’t know what I am going to do now.” says crest-fallen Narinder.

Narinder’s is not an isolated case, there are hundreds of instances where gullible workers have been short-changed and forcibly sent to Iraq in violation of labour contracts. Many truckers in Iraq have been killed in sniper attacks or by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Iraqi insurgents often ambush transport vehicles, and take the occupants hostage before demanding huge ransom to secure their release.

With oil prices booming, many Gulf countries are in the grip of construction and this has spawned a demand for foreign workers.There are millions of contract workers from the Subcontinent working in the Gulf in various sectors ranging from construction to oil to cleaning.

Many sell their properties to pay off recruitment fees. Though some Gulf countries have scrapped the sponsorship system, there is still a long way to go in improving the living conditions of the workers.

The most common grouse of the workers is contract violation, and abominable living conditions. Workers who protest are often deported, and with that their dreams are smashed to pieces.

Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai discusses democratic development with Mongolia

OTTAWA: Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently visited several key partners in Asia to promote and expand Canada’s interests abroad.

Obhrai is seeking to nurture Canada`s bilateral relationship with Mongolia, a country that contributes to Canada`s prosperity and has publicly expressed its desire to emulate Canada. Following the Mongolian Prime Minister`s visit to Canada in September 2010, Canada developed a long-term engagement strategy and PS Obhrai’s highlights the breadth of the Canada-Mongolia relationship.

In particular, PS Obhrai discussed issues of economic and democratic development. In Japan, PS Obhrai discussed with his counterpart the progress on a range of common bilateral objectives, and strengthen the friendship and understanding between Canada and Japan.

Following his visit to Japan, PS Obhrai made a stop in the Philippines to discuss issues of good governance and economic development with his counterparts in the Filipino government. Moreover, his visit will coincide with the 35th anniversary of Canada-ASEAN relations, a group in which the Philippines is a member.

Furthermore, PS Obhrai will take this opportunity to raise the issue of human rights. Canada values its strong relationship with the Philippines and looks forward to further nurturing this relationship.

Above news release sent by Obhrai’s office

Cameron Hopkins initially refused to accept the honour saying he was only doing his job

TTC bus operator honoured for rendering timely aid to seriously hurt man; Cameron sets fine example for his co-workers

Francis Cardoso


6:30 p.m.

The traffic light turned green at an intersection.

I began striding down the road to catch an east-bound bus on my way home.

Little did I realize that destiny had something else in store for me.

I suddenly felt a heavy blow in my chest as I began spinning before landing in a partially-snow covered traffic island.

A Cadillac Escalade had struck me in what can be described as a hit-and-run case.

With serious head injuries, I lay in a pool of blood as dazed passersby halted in their tracks to take a stock of the situation. None stepped forward to check on my well-being.

A TTC bus operator, who was at the wheel, and saw the incident unfold, immediately rushed to my rescue. In a swift move, he offloaded the passengers, and took me inside his bus before nursing me.

He then called 911 before securing all the evidence at the scene. He stuffed my shattered wrist-watch and eyewear in my blood-soaked jacket pocket.

Such was the impact of the hit that my head began reeling. But I could recognize the familiar face of the operator, Cameron Hopkins, who was a regular on the route.

Unassuming and polite, Cameron and I often exchanged pleasantries on less busy hours. Cameron was sitting beside me assuring me that everything would be fine.

From there on, I lost consciousness only to wake up in the hospital to find two constables by my side. They began their probe in the right earnest.

As the news of the accident spread, worried friends and relatives thronged my bedside, and began comforting me.I knew I had cheated death. Simply put, it was a miracle, nothing short of it.    

I was finally discharged, but the pain was terrible and rendered me incapacitated for quite some time.

For me, TTC had assumed a new meaning. In my mind, I rebranded TTC as Takes Timely Care. I wanted to make the Toronto SUN shine on Cameron but by then the story had gone cold.

I then decided to get in touch with TTC. I shot an email to the customer service.

In my email, I explained the chain of events that transpired on that fateful day. I also thanked Cameron for providing me timely assistance. I got an acknowledgement from TTC saying they would look into the matter.

           Frost (R) speaks at the award ceremony while Cameron and Gigi look on.

I then began frantically looking for Cameron to thank him personally. However, my persistent efforts to find him drew blank. Upon enquiring, I was told that his term on my route had ended, and he was plying the bus on another route.

Then, one day, I got a call from Cameron’s supervisor saying that TTC had decided to honour him for his good deed. She then asked me if I would be able to do a presentation on the day of the felicitation.

I said I would be more than happy to do so. Several weeks passed and I didn’t hear back. Then, after several months, I got another call from the same supervisor saying that the ceremony had to be called off due to unavoidable circumstances.

She again renewed her invitation to me, and I delightfully accepted it. Then months passed and nothing happened. I began to wonder what was going on, and blamed the management for dilly dallying.

On a chilly afternoon, I was waiting for the bus, and as the bus pulled up at the stop, I saw the Cameron at the wheel.

I let out a yelp of joy. I shook hands with him, and identified myself. He remembered the incident and recalled some scenes. He was happy to see me back on my feet.

Then I asked him why the felicitation ceremony didn’t materialize. Cameron said he had declined to be part of the event for personal reasons.

Upon pressing him, Cameron said: “I just did what I am supposed to do, and I didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

In response, I said: “I am not trying to glorify you, but only giving credit where it’s due. You have earned the honour, and you cannot turn away from it.”

As the conversation went on, I managed to drive home my key message.

Cameron after a brief pause, said: “If you feel strongly about my role in the incident, then I will speak to my supervisor, and see what she has to say.”

Finally the award ceremony was confirmed by Gigi Porteous, Assistant Superintendent at Eglington Division.

At the event, Cameron was presented an award by Gigi in the presence of Bill Frost, General Superintendent at Bus Transportation.

In his presentation, this writer recounted how Cameron had come to his rescue, and capped off his speech saying: “You drove into my heart with your noble action,” as a thunderous applause greeted him. 

More than a year on, the scars have not healed yet. I still see red at the traffic light, even when it’s green. I now embed with other road crossers, and ensure that all vehicles have come to a complete halt.

Note: The writer spoke to Cameron, and others to put together this article.