Angel was torn from the arms of her mother to be put in the care of her grandparents when she was just seven months old. And nearly a year after when her mother, Anu Mathew, made a sudden appearance before her on Tuesday, the kid could not realise its significance.
She first shied away from her, hanging back to her grandmother Lucy. Finally, the pair had a hug, their arms wrapped around each other.
Anu’s relief was there for all to see, as the nurse from the Tripoli Medical Centre in Libya, amid tears of joy, thanked God for reuniting her with the kid.
“I had no other option but leave her to my family members and work to secure the future of my little Angel,” she said.
Anu Mathew, a native of Thodupuzha in Idukki district, was among the first batch of 44 nurses who reached Kochi on Tuesday after being evacuated from the strife-torn Libyan city of Tripoli.
Arriving here by an Emirates flight from Dubai at 8.40 a.m., they were received by their friends and family members.
Anju Joseph, another nurse, told the media that many foreign nationals were robbed of their valuables. “Foreigners were scrambling to reach the Tripoli airport but protesters were not allowing anyone to get out of apartments,” she said.
Jisha George, another member of the group, attributed the problem to anti-social elements who took advantage of the clashes between rebels and the government. She said those at the hospital woke up everyday to a chorus of machinegun shots and mortar blasts rattling windows.
The evacuees, who crossed the Ras Jedir post just before it was closed last week by Tunisian authorities, were received by Indian Ambassador to Tripoli Azar A.H. Khan and Indian Ambassador to Tunisia Nagma Mohammed Mallick. After completion of formalities, the team took the long journey to Tunis where they reached early on Saturday. From Tunis, they were airlifted to Dubai on Monday and brought to Kochi next day morning.
