VZCZCXRO1373
RR RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMS #0586/01 1621157
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 111157Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8372
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000586 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2017 
TAGS: PHUM PREL AEMR ELBA SMIG MU
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE GONU CAUSES SEVERE HARDSHIP FOR 
LOW-SKILLED EXPATRIATE WORKERS 
 
REF: A. MUSCAT 576 
 
     ¶B. 06 MUSCAT 1635 
     ¶C. MUSCAT 388 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo, reasons 1.4 b/d. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Low-skilled expatriate workers - 
particularly those residing in employer-owned compounds 
locally known as "labor camps" - were severely affected by 
tropical cyclone Gonu and continue to face food and water 
shortages.  The number of storm-related fatalities among 
these workers remains unconfirmed.  Foreign missions are 
beginning to distribute aid to their nationals, but 
assistance so far has been limited and is hampered by poor 
information regarding the condition and location of affected 
populations.  The Embassy is monitoring conditions in the 
camps and updating relevant foreign missions as needed.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) As Oman continues to assess the scope of damage 
caused by tropical cyclone Gonu (ref A), it appears that 
low-skilled expatriate laborers and domestic workers may have 
been severely and disproportionately affected.  Unconfirmed 
estimates of the number of expatriate workers who may have 
died during the storm continue to rise.  Sources reported 
that as of June 8, the bodies of as many as 40 Indian workers 
had been found throughout the capital area.  (Note: As of 
0900 local time, June 11, the toll of fatalities from Gonu is 
49 according to official Omani sources, with 27 missing.  End 
note.)  One Indian woman living in a mixed-nationality, 
low-income neighborhood 60 kilometers outside Muscat reported 
that a wall of water surged through her community at night 
when many people were sleeping, and that she heard of some 
individuals being carried away by the rushing water. 
Contacts expect the number of expatriate dead to rise further 
as more information comes in from communities around Muscat 
and further along the coast, and as water and mud are removed 
from the worst affected areas. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Many labor camps, in which thousands of expatriate 
laborers live throughout the capital area, suffered extensive 
damage.  Several camps in the Wadi Adai area close to Muscat 
were wiped out by rushing water, which surged through the 
wadi ("valley" in Arabic) from the surrounding mountains. 
Omani-based Indian news sources reported that at least 18 
workers from Wadi Adai were listed as missing following the 
storm, and are presumed dead.  The cleaning company OIG, 
which maintained a compound in Wadi Adai, moved 200 of its 
workers from the demolished camp to Oman's Bowshar Stadium 
for temporary lodging, where they were staying as of June 9 
without cover or air conditioning.  Kalhat, another cleaning 
company that had a facility in Wadi Adai, relocated a similar 
number of workers to its camp in the Ghala industrial area, 
bringing the total number of workers housed in the already 
overcrowded camp to more than 800 (ref B). 
 
¶4. (SBU) Workers living in the Ghala camps, many of which 
also were damaged by the storm and associated flooding, 
reported food and water shortages since Gonu hit June 6. 
Some of the laborers in Kalhat's Ghala facility told poloff 
on June 8 that they had no water for drinking or cooking 
after the storm, and blamed the company for its slow response 
in addressing their needs.  Approximately 150 of the camp's 
residents gathered in front of the supervisor's building on 
the evening of June 7 angrily demanding food and water. 
Contacts added that workers throughout the Ghala camps faced 
similar conditions, and that there were reports on June 7 of 
some violence among workers in at least one facility.  While 
poloff confirmed that Kalhat sent water trucks to its camp on 
the evening of June 8 and again on June 9, workers contend 
that the water is not nearly enough to meet demand. 
 
¶5. (C) Diplomats and labor attaches in embassies of 
labor-exporting countries admit that they still do not know 
how many of their nationals have been severely impacted by 
Gonu, particularly among the population of workers who may be 
here illegally.  Labor attaches in the Sri Lankan Embassy say 
that they have little information on the condition or 
whereabouts of women living and working illegally in Oman as 
domestic employees under what is locally called the "free 
visa system," but suspect that they are facing considerable 
hardship.  Poloff traveled with the attaches to a devastated 
neighborhood outside of Muscat to deliver emergency 
assistance to a number of Sri Lankan nationals who said they 
lost everything in the storm.  One woman stated that a group 
of illegal workers similarly affected by the storm were 
scared to leave their rented villa and accept aid - even from 
their own embassy - for fear of being deported. 
 
MUSCAT 00000586  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Foreign missions claim that they are aware of the 
overall situation of their nationals, but most are only 
beginning to mobilize relief efforts.  The Indian community 
is the most organized so far, using a network of private 
businessmen to manage and fund emergency aid distribution. 
The Indian School in a suburb of Muscat is acting as a 
primary distribution point, and volunteers at the site report 
that they served over 2,000 people of all nationalities with 
food and water between June 7-9.  Contacts assert, however, 
that demand for assistance is greater than supply.  The 
Indian director of the Tijan Group of Companies, who is 
coordinating cyclone relief in Ghala, stated that he is 
simply engaging in "triage," focusing on the thousands of 
workers in smaller companies who likely are at greater risk 
of extended food and water shortages. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  Post will continue attempting to monitor 
the condition of expatriate workers and inform relevant 
foreign missions of situations in which their nationals may 
be at considerable risk.  Post also is prepared to engage 
companies like Kalhat, with which the Embassy has a contract 
to clean the Chancery (ref C), to ensure that it is taking 
steps to meet the basic needs of its workers, given city-wide 
disruptions to water supply.  Mission employees have donated 
food and water to workers in the camps, and will continue 
these volunteer efforts.  End comment. 
GRAPPO