Neither Neenu Jose nor her kin will ever forget her 23rd birthday, which falls on Saturday.
As she lands at Kochi on a special Air India aircraft after being evacuated along with 45 fellow nurses from the war-torn Iraq, she will heave a sigh of relief walking into the comforting embrace of her parents John Kochupurakkal and Alice to celebrate her most memorable birthday.
Mr. Kochupurakkal, a farmer at the remote Rajakkad in Idukki district, had sent his daughter to Tikrit hoping that she would be the breadwinner for the family.
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However, his hopes were dashed by the civil war in the wake of which Ms. Jose had to return home empty handed, her four months’ salary still pending.
After completing her nursing degree from Pushpagiri Nursing College, Thiruvalla, Ms. Jose worked in a private hospital in Delhi for a few months.
It was around that time that a Malayali agent offered her job in Iraq with a salary equivalent to Rs. 50,000 in Indian currency. “We had to shell out a few lakhs to fetch her an overseas job. But now we are ready to forego the money. We are immensely happy that she is returning safe and sound, nothing else matters to us now,” said Ms. Kochupurakkal.
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