M A I N   N E W S

Iraq control room abuzz with Punjabis’ tale of woes
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 1
As the phone rings on the fifth floor of the Punjab Civil Secretariat, Devinder Singh, nodal officer in the control room, holds his breath to say: “Sat Sri Akal ji.”

With a trembling voice, the caller says: “Mera naa Rakesh Kumar hai. Main ithe Iraq wich athh mahine pehlan foreman di naukri karan aaya si. Jis Ameriki company ne naukri diti si, uhna ne mera passport lai ke rakh liya. Hun kehende ne kamm te aao, nahin te na hi tankha milegi na hi roti, te na hi passport vapas milega. Kehnde ne, do saal da contract hai. Par ithe bahar nikalna khatre ton khali nahin hai. Bhaji, meri madad karo te ghar vapas pahuncha diyo (I am Rakesh Kumar and I came to work for an American company here in Iraq as a foreman eight months ago. But the employers took my passport. Now, they want me to continue working for them. They have refused to pay me, provide food or return my passport till I complete my two-year contract. But, I cannot go out and work as it is dangerous. Please help me get back home).” And he breaks down.

A batch of Indians workers, who were stranded in Iraq, arrives in Kozhikode on Tuesday. — PTI

Devinder says: “Have faith in Wahe Guru. The Indian Government is making all efforts to bring back those stranded in Iraq. We will forward your details to the Ministry of External Affairs, which is dealing with the evacuation of all stranded Indians. Now, give me all your details and feel free to call me whenever you feel the need to get reassurance.” Rakesh hails from Kahnuwal village of Gurdaspur and is currently stranded in a town near Tikrit.

The room, with four people manning the telephone lines round the clock, receives calls not just from stranded Punjabis in Iraq, where the ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and Levant) is fighting to take control of the country, but from their relatives as well.

Surjit Singh, another caller from Mumbai, calls up to vent out his anger on the government staff for the “Indian Government’s failure to bring back their children”. “What is the use of a helpline if you cannot get our children back? Please ask the government to immediately get these Punjabi boys home as early as possible,” he pleads. The attendant replies: “Recite your gurbani, uncle ji. Tuhadi dua rabb zaroor manzoor karega, uste bharosa rakho (Recite verses from the Gurbani and your prayers will be answered. Have faith in God.”

The room is immune to the hustle-bustle of other offices on the floor. Devinder says: “I just know that I have to reach here at 9 am, but have no clue as to when will I call it a day. Even when I am at home, my mind keeps wandering here and the desperation of callers haunts me.” The data collected by the control room so far shows that 801 Punjabis are stranded in Iraq, of which only 15 have returned so far. The maximum number of persons stranded in the war-ravaged country are from Hoshiarpur (nearly 350), while others belong to Gurdaspur, Patiala, Jalandhar and Nawanshahr.

Baghdadi calls for jihad