The Hindu : Flight from jaws of death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Flight from jaws of death

By Our Staff Reporter

Safia Sultana calling up her relatives after arriving at the Hyderabad airport on Friday . _ Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

HYDERABAD March 21. Anguish, distress, pain and relief. A cycle of mixed emotions ran through the first batch of Kuwait-based Andhraites who returned here this morning. Their flight from the war-torn zone is nothing short of escape from the jaws of death.

Fatigued, drawn and bleary-eyed, the evacuees nonetheless had relief writ large on their faces as they set foot on the home soil. Some grinned from ear to ear, some looked emotional wrecks and some betrayed no stress as they were received by their kith and kin at the Rajiv Gandhi airport here. At least one woman, Jhansi of Vijayawada, broke down as she recounted the harrowing experience of fleeing from Kuwait with the bombs falling all around.

The Kuwait-Ahmadabad-Hyderabad flight, which arrived here two hours behind schedule at 10.30 a.m., brought 87 passengers belonging to the State, a large number of whom were from the City. Worried family members were waiting for the flight impatiently since morning. They heaved a sigh of relief when the plane finally touched down and their dear ones emerged. It was warm hugging and thanksgiving all the way.

Six-year-old Jhanavi, who arrived along with another family, seemed quite oblivious to the excitement. Her grandparents had come to the airport to receive her. Jhanavi's parents -- Narayana and Jayalalita -- couldn't come as they had problem getting their passports.

Syed Ahsan and his sister, Asra, of Mehdipatnam were quite relieved to be back home. Though they had no problem at Kuwait, their family members in Hyderabad were worried and kept enquiring about their welfare. "We decided to fly out before the airport is closed down,'' said Ahsan, who works for an oil company at Kuwait.

Abdullah, who runs a hotel at Kuwait, came back with his entire family -- bag and baggage. Shobha of Mangalore, also accompanied his family, as her husband, Gokuldas Bhatt, coudn't get a seat. Same was the case with Safia Sultana of Barkas. She had gone to Kuwait three months ago to visit her sister there. But now she had to get back in a hurry with the war breaking out. Her sister and brother-in-law couldn't come as they failed to get seats. There was none to receive Safia at the airport. She had to telephone and inform her family about her arrival. Most of the passengers spoke of the difficulty faced by them in obtaining tickets with everyone trying to flee.

There are nearly 3 lakh Indians working in Kuwait. With the war breaking out, most of them have decided to send back their families to India. Vijayalakshmi of Ameerpet came with her two children. Her husband, Gautam, who is a safety engineer with an oil company, was not relieved. "His services are required there and so he is staying back,'' she said.

What about the families here? Well, they are quite relieved to have their dears one back in their midst.

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