Kerala’s hidden distressed migration Premium

An emotional story of Keralites tricked into fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine, highlighting the dangers of migration.

On April 4, Anchuthengu, a sleepy fishing village along the coast of the Arabian Sea, about 30 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, threw itself into the usual morning bustle, with fishermen getting ready to venture into the sea after a gap of four days. Fishing activities had been suspended here after the ocean swell — triggered by a low-pressure area — flooded the beach and coastal hamlets.

Inside a hut that lies at the edge of the seafront, unprotected by a seawall, Bindu Paniyadima is trying hard to hold back her tears as she mops the floor where seawater had entered two days before. The flooding is not the reason though. It has been three months since her son, Tinu Paniyadima, left for Russia for a job. The 25-year-old was the sole breadwinner of the family after his father, Paniyadima of Koprakoodu, died three years ago in a freak accident on the beach. The incident pushed the family to a financial edge.

 “I would not have allowed my son to go abroad, but we are deep in debt. We borrowed money from money lenders during the time of our daughter’s marriage in 2017. Later, when my husband was severely injured after the accident, we had to borrow money again,” says Bindu. She adds that the money lenders then began to send retrievers home. It was then that Tinu decided to go abroad.

Two other young men — Prince Sebastian, 24, and Vineeth Silva, 23 — from the same coastal village, Tinu’s cousins and fellow crew members of a small fishing vessel, also decided to seek their fortunes abroad. The trio borrowed ₹7 lakh each from loan sharks in the area and paid this money to an agent in Thiruvananthapuram to get work in Russia. The agent assured them of a monthly salary of ₹2 lakh each, for jobs to provide security to army installations in Russia.

So far, four people from Kerala have been identified as part of the many in Russia, who have been deceived into fighting the war with Ukraine. While two, including Sebastian, have returned with injuries, two more, including Tinu, are still in the combat zone. The Indian Embassy in Moscow has yet to establish contact with them. The Ministry of External Affairs has written to Russian authorities seeking their early discharge, but the anxious wait of the families of Tinu and Silva continues.

The shock of recruitment

On January 3, amid both tears at bidding their families goodbye and the hope of a better life, the three men left for Russia, where an agent identified as Santhosh Alex received them at the Moscow airport. He then took them to a military camp, where they were told to sign an agreement in Russian.