With concern rising back home for their safety, Indian nurses in Tikrit say they have not been able to leave the paediatric hospital where they work, but are safe and have provisions for the moment.
“So far we are safe, but don’t know what could happen anytime,” one of 46 nurses in the town told The Hindu on the phone. “Our families want us to return, but we don’t want to leave without our salary,” she said. “We heard firing at the beginning, a few days ago, now it seems to be better.”
The nurses stranded in a paediatric hospital in Tikrit in Iraq took turns keeping in touch with the Indian Ambassador in Baghdad, who had helped them, through the Iraqi government, get food supplies and phone recharge coupons to call home.
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The nurses belong to two batches: 33 of them who have been in Tikrit for a year and another 13 who arrived four months ago, a nurse in the latter group told The Hindu over the phone.
“We were told we would be paid after three months; so we are torn. We have come here with a lot of problems, taken loans, and if we go back to Kerala, it will be very difficult for our families,” she said.
The nurse seemed to be aware of the concern their situation has generated in India, saying: “Please pray for us….pray that we are safe, and that we get to keep our jobs.”
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