Emotions ran high as two aircraft carrying 334 Indians, rescued from war-ravaged Yemen, arrived at city airport late on Friday night. In no time, the grim faces, battered by fear, pain and exhaustion for days, transformed into cracking a smile or heaving a sigh of relief in the secure confines of the motherland. Many even broke down.
Emotions ran high as two aircraft carrying 334 Indians, rescued from war-ravaged Yemen, arrived at city airport late on Friday night. In no time, the grim faces, battered by fear, pain and exhaustion for days, transformed into cracking a smile or heaving a sigh of relief in the secure confines of the motherland. Many even broke down.
"'Ya Allah (Hey Lord), this is my last night in the world', I have been whispering this ever since the civil war broke out. Every night, I would call up my wife and two kids in Baroda thinking I was talking to them for the last time," said Sayed Waris Ali, a human resources executive working in an oil exploration project located near the port city of Al Hudaydah.
Ali said his family would call back the next morning to check if he was alive. "It has been a horrendous time," said the 44-year-old, who has been associated with Chemie Tech LLC and was based in Yemen since past over a decade. About his future plans, Ali is quick to add: "For next few days, I would just like to spend my time with my family, as it seems to be the second life for me. Later, I shall join my company's branch in Dubai."
Prakash D'Souza and Minhaj Mulla, two friends both from Mumbai, were among the first batch of Indians to arrive in Mumbai on Thursday. The two were present at the airport on Friday night to receive some of their colleagues. The duo worked with United Yemen Shipping Co. Maersk Line.
"The situation was so tense that the floor tiles of my home were rendered loose due to heavy shelling that was going on around our colony," said D'souza, while showing a video of locals looting an arms depot in Aden, where he was based, on his smartphone. "Every person in Yemen carries a weapon. Neither the Houthi rebels nor the Saudi-led forces have targeted the Indian diaspora, but bullets and grenades can come from any direction and won't ask for our identity."
Though the role of Indian government and embassy has been much appreciated by all those involved in the evacuation work, Mulla has a different story to tell. "The embassy staffers did not take our calls for most part of the days. Even if they took, they were themselves clueless about the rescue. It's only after that we directly mailed and called up the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi, did things begin to move."
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