Indians In Iraq: Lives Stranded In Search Of Better Lives

The union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj today said that all efforts were underway to rescue Indians stranded in the violence-hit areas of Iraq.

Giving an assurance to the families of those kidnapped, she said every possible effort is being made to rescue them.

“All efforts are underway (to rescue them). I am personally supervising the efforts. We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure their return,” Swaraj told reporters in New Delhi.

It is also learnt that she talked to the families concerned for the lives of their loved ones in Iraq.

Since 2003 United States invasion and killing of Saddam Hussain, the internal war in Iraq has been gaining ground. In fact, it has been a disturbed nation even before the US invasion. The Sunni militants of ISIS have now waged a full-blown war against the government of Iraq which has a Shia tag on it.

When the news of 46 Indian nurses being stranded in the foreign country flashed on the televisions, the countrymen wanted the government to ensure their safe return as soon as possible. But when the government talked to these nurses in Tikrit through embassies, most of them just requested transfer in a safer area.

In addition to that, these 46 nurses have not received their salary of past few months. The ISIS, which now calls itself the ‘new management’ of the Tikrit teaching hospital, is learnt to have assured them safety but not payment.

Now, who would not want to return from a terrorism-infested country? That too after the knowledge of abduction of 40 fellow Indian workers in the city of Mosul? It’s not that the Indians were unaware of the ongoing domestic war in Iraq, yet they chose to go there and work. It is baffling that these nurses wish to remain in Iraq.

Why?

According to a report in BBC Hindi, these 46 nurses, who used to earn USD 600-850 per month, have not received their salary from past 3-4 months. They all took loans to pay the employment agentsfor searching new jobs for them. These loans amount from INR 1 to 2 Lakh. Now they cannot return to India without paying the loan. However, the ‘new management’ has told them that they will have to talk to Indian Embassy for taking up a job elsewhere in Iraq.

It should be noted that these nurses found their job in Iraq after paying similar amounts to employment agents in India. Many of them took loan against their jewellary or other assets including houses.

Similarly, the Indians kidnapped in Mosul, who were working in a construction company there, had found their way to Iraq for monetary gains. They too had paid agents large sums for their employment. Some had to pay for loans taken in India and some had to pay for their sister’s marriage. One liability lead to another.

Although the Indian government has claimed that their whereabouts is now known, uncertainty over their return looms large. These people are from West Kerala and Punjab. Now Telangana has approached the centre saying that about 600 people from the state are in Iraq and it wants MEA to ensure their safety too.

About 10,000 Indian nationals are currently in Iraq and, according to the Indian government, some 100 are stranded in violence-hit areas in that country. But the maths does not add up.

The government is thinking about their safe return but it has not given a thought to the loans which will not let them return. Caught in the vicious cycle of loans, these lives are now stranded in a war-infested country.