`Breaking silence to break the Gulf lure'

HYDERABAD: Back in India, the two city girls, whose employer was pushing them into `home service', say they rather not tell anyone what they went through. They pleaded with Noorjahan, another returnee, not to reveal their names to anyone, for obvious reasons.
For her part, Noorjahan, who came back to India last October, has finally decided to speak out. She said she wants to make sure other girls do not fall into the trap of agents and land in trouble in Saudi.“I used to see a lot of Hyderabadi girls being brought there.They are shocked when they are forced to go for `home service'. Inevitably they tortured until they give in,“ she said.
If being tortured by her employer was not enough, Noorjahan said that the detention centre in Dammam jail where she was for six months, was no safe haven either. “ A man who showed an authorisation (sic) that he was a registered volunteer for the Indian embassy said he would send me back to India and took money . He also made an indecent proposal. When I informed my husband, he took leave from work in Riyadh and got me out of the detention centre,“ Noorjahan said. She gave the name of the person in question, which this newspaper is refraining from publishing, but she will give it to the authorities concerned.