A Gulf company has fired one of its employees from Kerala for an insensitive social media post mocking the plight of flood victims in the southern Indian state.
The firm, Lulu Group International, summarily dismissed one Rahul Cheru Palayattu, who worked at the company’s branch in Oman as a cashier after he made fun of sanitary needs of the flood victims on Facebook.
In its termination notice, the company wrote, “This is to inform that we have terminated your service with immediate effect because of your highly insensitive and derogatory comments on social media with regard to current flood situation in Kerala, India.”
It further added, “You are hereby instructed to handover all your official responsibilities to your reporting Manager immediately and to contact the Accounts Department for your final settlement.”
Realising the consequences, Palayattu had later apologised for his Facebook comments but that wasn’t enough for him to save his job. “I am really sorry for what I did. I was in an inebriated state when I posted that message. At that time I did not know what I did was a grave mistake,” Dubai-based Khaleej Times quoted his apology video.
Prajith Kumar, manager, Personnel and Admin, later posted on his Facebook, “TERMINATED: This is to inform that we have terminated Mr. RAHUL CP from services with immediate effect because of his highly insensitive and derogatory comments on social media with regard to current Flood situations in Kerala, India. LuLu Group does not condone this type of behavior and it does not in any way reflect our views and values. We as an organization and our CMD Mr. Yusuffali MA have been in the forefront, helping out the flood affected people of Kerala.”
Lulu group earned plenty of plaudits on social media for its quick and decisive response. One user wrote, “Good decision to terminate he deserved it.” Another wrote, “He has to be terminated for passing such lewd comment.”
Kerala has been facing its worst floods for over a century with nearly 400 people losing their lives. Millions of of them have been adversely affected, but the nature’s fury in the God’s own country has ironically become a topic of hate and ridicule for sadists owing allegiance to right-wing ideology as reported by Janta Ka Reporter on Sunday.
The owner of Lulu Group, MA Yusuff Ali, himself a Keralite, has already donated 9.23 million UAE Dirhams for relief and rehabilitation in Kerala. The UAE government on Saturday said that it had formed a committee to provide relief assistance to flood victims of Kerala adding that the people from the state were the party of the Kingdom’s success story.
On Sunday, another Gulf country Qatar had announced a financial help of Rs 35 crore.