In Arab spring,Indian labour warms up to Djibouti

President Ismael Omar Guelleh’s picture hangs above his head and his desk is burdened with papers. Each month at least 70 people are applying for a visa,in sharp contrast to just 30 in a year until two years ago.

In fact,as many as 259 visas have been issued since January,more than the total number issued by Djibouti in the previous six years.

The Arab spring and the uncertainty it has set off is making this tiny country in the Horn of Africa — with a population of less than 9,00,000 — increasingly attractive for Indian labour,skilled and unskilled.

Most passports stamped are new passports,their pages,more often than not,blank. For most,Djibouti is their first trip abroad. It takes a maximum of three days to get a visa and visa extensions in Djibouti are increasing. In the past month,52 visas were processed — all 52 were men and carpenters from across India.

It doesn’t matter whether the labour is skilled or unskilled. It doesn’t matter if the applicant identifies himself through a thumbprint,like Rabiul Mondal from West Bengal did. For now,manpower is needed,to construct something out of African desert-nothingness.

“We’re booming,” says the proud Counsellor. “There are pirates,civil war and malnutrition worries in countries around us but we’re not affected,” he says. It might be a desert with soaring hot temperatures,but Djibouti is an oasis of calm in a volatile region. Somalia,Ethiopia and Eritrea are its neighbours,while almost next door is Yemen (Osama Bin Laden’s half brother is,in fact,planning to connect the two countries and continents via the world’s largest sea bridge).

Djibouti opened its door to foreign investment in the last decade. At first,it was just aid ships using the Djibouti port to provide food aid to neighbouring Sudan and Ethiopia. Then 9/11 happened and Djibouti’s fate changed. If the mantra ‘location,location,location’ ever meant anything,Djibouti is the encapsulation of it.

First,the Americans came. Djibouti now plays home to the only US Army base in Africa and construction is underway at the American Embassy,says Sheloob Khan,spa manager at the Kempinski Palace in Djibouti. He’s from Kerala.

“The number of Indians is increasing,they can be seen working on projects,they even helped build this property in all of six months,” he says.

Indian investment in Djibouti too has just been ramped up further. The Prime Minister announced an extension of $300 million assistance aid for the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway at the second India-Africa Summit. This line will connect East Africa to trade with Arabia and India.

Unlike Dubai,where the recession brought cranes to a standstill,and for a country that cites Dubai as its development-model,business in Djibouti is better than ever. The growth rates sit at a comfortable 8 per cent and have climbed up from 3 per cent in 2003.

But Djibouti has its constraints. The population,like the country,is small,unemployment is high and labour is costly.

However,as unemployment continues to be a fixture at the Al Quoz Labor Camp in Dubai,with unskilled workers not being paid for up to three months,a new opportunity has opened up in Djibouti.

“It’s for the lucky ones,but people are moving from here to Djibouti,” says Nazir Bashir,a labour recruiter at Al Quoz. The Djibouti Embassy in Dubai estimates around 150 Indians acquiring passports for Djibouti. Djibouti’s growth,in fact,has been spurred by Dubai’s companies: the Lootah Group has invested in the country’s airline.

“Change over the past few years has been immense and it’ll keep growing. If it continues at this rate there’ll be a shortage of residences,” says Vinod Shah,Freight Controller at the Indian Honorary Consulate in Djibouti.

It was only last year Djibouti signed a deal with a company to manufacture cement. That too is an Indian company,Saboo Engineers from Jodhpur. S C Joshi,its Vice President,responsible for Djibouti,says the climate is conducive to employment but not many people know “the secret” as yet.

That is clearly changing now. Ask Dileita.