KOCHI: Sequestered in their rooms with explosions around them every now and then. The nurses who returned from Libya on Tuesday have similar tales to narrate as that of the nurses who returned from Iraq a month ago. Forty four nurses returned on Tuesday from war-torn Libya.
They consider this get away a chance for a second shot at life. Riya Sara Abraham, a nurse from Pathanamthitta, said the country is witnessing severe battle for the last two months. Before returning, she had already resigned her job. “But I could not move out of the country as the civil war was fierce. Hence we were forced to remain indoors,” she said. Riya was even denied her gratuity and other benefits.The city where she worked had been witnessing a fierce battle for the last two months and she had already resigned the job. “However, we were unable to move out of the country due to the internal crisis and were forced to coop up indoors,” she explained, adding that the hospital authorities denied her gratuity and other benefits as promised.
‘It’s a Rebirth’
Siby Mathew, a native of Tiruvalla said that she felt like a second birth. “It’s my second life.” She said that she had never felt safe in Tripoli. She joined Tripoli Medical Centre ( TMC ) in July, 2013. “I joined last year. I never felt safe a single day,” she said. Siby said that she received her first salary after eight months of joining.
“But sending salary to home has always been a strenuous task. They ask huge sum as bribe to process the applications,” she said. They did not forget to mention that even amidst such a furore, they could get quality food.