For the 46 Malayali nurses caught amid the spiralling violence fuelled by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Iraq in 2014, the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was not just a voice of reassurance on the other side of the phone, but someone on whom they rested all their hopes. It was not in vain as a few weeks later, they landed safely back in Kerala as a result of the interventions that the State government had made through the Indian Embassy.
Sayona Thomas, one among the nurses who were rescued, reminisces about those dark days when the regular calls with the Chief Minister’s office were the only thing that kept them going.
“We were all working at the Tikrit Teaching Hospital. The situation began to get worse early in June 2014 with the IS bombing facilities near the hospital. The doctors and other staff from Iraq warned us that things could get out of hand soon. Later, they too stopped coming. The Baghdad airport was five hours away. We got in touch with the Indian Embassy first. A Malayali staff working there asked us to get in touch with the Chief Minister’s office. When we called the office, we got the chance to speak about our issues directly to the CM. He told us to remain calm and assured us that every step will be taken to bring us back,” says Ms. Thomas.
