THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Weeks and weeks of angst and agony, suspense and scare for Sabitha’s family just evaporated, to be replaced by ultimate joy and relief when she walked out of the arrival lounge of the domestic terminal on Thursday night. Sabitha Najeeb was one among the hundreds of Indians caught in the Libyan town of Sirte, once war broke out in the African country.
Just as her four children located Sabitha waiting for her baggage, they couldn’t contain their happiness, waving madly at the pink churidar-clad Sabitha.
The youngest, Keerthan, hugged her tightly and declared that he is not going to let her go anywhere again, let alone Libya. Ritwik, Nibitha and Sneha, and Sabitha’s mother and brother were the others in the reception committee.
Sabitha had left Libya in an Italian ship with Albanian crew on Tuesday for Malta. The journey took 22 hours, with Sabitha travelling on an empty stomach.
"Until we boarded the ship, we were so tense that we did not have any food at all. When the ship served us a huge spread, everyone ate to their hearts-full, except me, for I was afraid of sea-sickness. Soon enough, everyone started throwing up," recalled Sabitha.
From Malta, they were flown to Delhi and that’s where Sabitha had food to her heart’s fill - rice and sambar from Kerala House. "I have a long list of people to thank," said Sabitha.
When told that she looked a little plumper than when she left India, Sabitha winked and said: "That’s because I am wearing four pairs of dresses, we were not allowed to take away too much of luggage. Laptops and mobiles were also being taken away. I had to give up all that I had bought in Libya," said Sabitha, a resident of Thirumala.
It may be recalled that Expresso had carried the story, titled ‘Woman from city trapped in strategic town’, on March 5.
The Air-India flight scheduled to arrive at 9.55 pm here was a trifle late, but for 16 families, it was no bother. A total of 16 evacuees from Libya were on the flight that reached Thiruvananthapuram, while 30-odd evacuees got down in Kochi.
Sirte being located between volatile Tripoli and Benghazi, evacuation was tough for the Indian Government. Sabitha’s husband had sent petitions to several Union Ministers, including Vayalar Ravi and E Ahamed, MPs and MLAs for help. Until March 5, when the Indian Ambassador informed that the Libyan Government had finally given sanction for air and ship evacuation from Sirte, Sabitha’s family were going through hell.
Even amidst all this tension and worry, Sabitha didn’t forget to bring ‘Barbie’ pens for her two daughters. The youngest of the two, Sneha, has decided to write her annual exams with the ‘lucky pen’.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com