“So far they are secure; have their jobs and, they have their food and water on time. But, all on the hospital campus. Outside the campus, the law-and-order situation is increasingly worsening,” said Mohandas, whose daughter is a nurse at the Tripoli Medical Centre (TMC). He was speaking at a meeting of the parents of the nurses stranded in Libya, here on Friday.
In a recent incident, nurses coming back from the bank in a taxi were asked to give up all their possessions, including jewellery, at gunpoint, that too by the taxi driver himself, he said. After repeated pleadings, their passports were returned.
Those staying in the private hospitals are facing difficulty in travelling to and from their hospitals as they have to make arrangements for their own travels, which has become increasingly risky.
Recent recruits Many of those who met here on Friday had their daughters, some others, their wives and sisters out there. Nearly 90 parents met on Friday mainly from Kottayam, Idukki, and Ernakulam, and a few from Pathanamthitta district. The TMC, one of the largest hospitals in the country, has about 1,400 nursing staff, out of which, nearly 650 are from Kerala. While a few like Mr. Mohandas’s daughter were living with their family, more than half of them were recent recruits.
The situation became increasingly problematic in the last few days with the destruction of the international airport at Tripoli by the rebel forces. This has also resulted in a deteriorating law and order situation in the city, the parents said.
No consensus There is still no consensus on their return, the parents said. While some of them wanted to come back, some others are hoping against hope for the situation to return to normal so that they would be able to continue there; yet some others have not made up their mind yet, Mr. Mohandas said. And many of them were facing yet another problem as their passports are still with the authorities.
At Friday’s meeting the parents of nurses from seven hospitals in Libya who remain stranded, gave shape to an organisation, Libyan Nurses’ Parents’ Association, with Mr. Mohandas as its chairman and P.C. George, Government Chief Whip, as the patron.
They have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister to expedite steps to ensure their safe passage to India.
Chandy talks to envoy
Indian Ambassador to Libya Azar A.H. Khan on Friday assured Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of the safe passage of nurses stranded in Tripoli after Ramzan.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had taken up the issue with Mr. Khan, the former’s office said here on Friday.
