Having missed the company of his family members for 11 long years, Desmond D’souza, a native of Kinnigoli here, is taking a break for a while and wants to enjoy this festive season with his family members. Shravan Anchan, a native of Bejai in the city, is trying to find a job here and continue earning. Both of them returned home from Afghanistan on Monday.
They are among the seven from Dakshina Kannada who have returned leaving their jobs at the NATO Support Agency functioning at the NATO Military Base in Kabul, Afghanistan.
All the seven met Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Hariram Shankar on Wednesday.
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“While spending the last 11 years in Afghanistan, I missed the company of my family members. This is a good break I have now and I am making the best use of it to revive my bonding with family members,” Mr. D’Souza said. He worked as a warehouse asset administrator at the NATO Support Agency.
Mr. Anchan, who worked in the procurement section of the NATO Support Agency, said that he has already started looking for placements in the city. “I cannot afford to relax and I am continuing to search for an opening here. With the pandemic, the job market is also gloomy but I am trying,” he said.
Asked whether he needs any help from the government, Mr. Achan said, “I am grateful to the government for safely bringing me back. I have energy and I will make every effort to find a job.”
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Dinesh Rai, a native of Kasaragod in Kerala, who moved to Bajpe five years ago, said that he will take up electrical jobs. “I had an inkling about losing my job in Afghanistan and hence, I had taken on rent a commercial space in the city in May itself. I will start working from there now,” Mr. Rai said. He worked in the electrical maintenance section in the NATO Support Agency since 2011. He had worked in Iraq between 2008 and 2011.
Melwyn from Uliya in Ullal, who also worked in the electrical maintenance section in NATO Military Base, is also searching for a rented office space in the city from where he can take up electrical work. His younger brother, Demcy, who worked as an AC technician in the Military Base, said that he is not thinking of resuming work yet.
All the seven thanked the Union and State governments for safely bringing them back home.
Mr. Kumar and Mr. Shankar said that if there are any people from Dakshina Kannada in need of help in Afghanistan, they can contact the police who will arrange to get the issues addressed through the Additional Director-General of Police Umesh Kumar.
Mr. Umesh Kumar is the nodal officer of the State government to coordinate on issues related to Afghanistan.