KOCHI: Fearing attack, more Keralites are getting ready to leave strife-torn Iraq following the abduction of Indians by jihadist militants. Four Keralites were among a batch of 16 Indians who returned home on Friday as they feared the Baghdad airport might be closed at any time.
Manoj M S, a native of Kilimanoor who was a construction worker at Badra on the border, said he left the country as he thought it would be difficult to do so if any untoward incident happened and the airport got closed. “Some friends in Iraq gave us information on what is happening there. They showed us video clippings of brutal killings. The videos showed people being taken to a roadside and shot dead. There were also scenes of people being beheaded,” he said. According to Manoj, some Shias, facing threats from the Sunni militants, had already acquired visas to enter neighbouring Iran in case of any emergency.
“A visa could be obtained for $15 and the border is very near to where we were staying. As our construction project was nearing completion, some labourers had already left. Now there are around 120 Indians at this particular project site. They are also planning to flee to Iran if disturbances spread to Badra,” he added.
But the Indians also fear that getting an Iran visa stamped in their passports may create problems if they want to travel to any other country in future, he said.
Latheef, who was also working in Iraq, said he had come to know about the unrest in the country through his family members in Kerala. “Every day they used to call us and narrate what they see in the media and forced some of us to leave Iraq as we didn’t want to take risk,” said the construction worker from Palakkad.
Manoj also said airlines had hiked fares after the problems started in Iraq. A ticket from the country to India now costs nearly `40,000.
“However, we got our tickets cheap, for `25,000. There were around 16 Indians on our flight,” he said.