THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state Government and NORKA which is grappling with the problems of nurses holed up in Tikrit, now face a new challenge of ensuring safety of Malayalis in Kurdistan which is an autonomous region in Northern Iraq.
A group of 20 Malayalis, most of them working in private companies, contacted NORKA officials on Monday narrating their tale of woes. As fighting escalated in Mosul and areas bordering Kurdistan, all they wanted was assistance to return home at the earliest. Taking advantage of the situation, a section of local people had also started threatening them to vacate jobs to make space for the natives.
Though ISIS had not yet directly attacked Kurdistan, owing to heavy fighting between the rebels and Government forces and air strikes in areas bordering Mosul, hundreds including rebels had crossed over to Kurdish region. This had escalated tension in Kurdistan which might have created a scare among the Malayalis.
“We have heard them out patiently. But at the moment its a wait and watch situation for everyone. In the midst of heavy fighting it is difficult to arrange their evacuation,’’ said P Sudip, NORKA CEO.
Meanwhile, Malayali nurses holed up in Tikrit hospital informed NORKA officials that they were facing shortage of food. Some of them called officials over phone and said that they were left with some rice stock and biscuits. International humanitarian agency Red Crescent which was supplying food to the nurses, had stopped providing food because of heightened tension. The beginning of holy month of Ramadan had also affected the availability of food.
The nurses said that they had no clue whether Tikrit was under the control of government forces or ISIS rebels. However, from the hospital they could witness armed men celebrating on the streets.
