Rajasthan
From being hostages to meeting Indian officials, evacuees recall Sudan horror | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: “Hello! I am from the Rajasthan government.” After a week of intense tension when Raghuveer Sharma heard these words during a phone call, he breathed a sigh of relief. The caller assured him that the Rajasthan government had spoken to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and someone from the Indian Embassy would call them shortly.
“It was tensed Saturday on April 22 when we were planning to flee the country when the call came. Can’t tell you the joy it brought to me and my 28 colleagues – all from different districts of the state,” Raghuveer told TOI.
As violence hit Sudan, Raghuveer along with his colleagues got stranded in Sobah Al Sabur, a small hamlet located around 15 km from capital Khartoum. With their experience in the past six days, they were seeking local help to flee from the country.
“It was not easy to flee a country with the help of the local embassy. The call from the Rajasthan government official, followed by call from the local embassy gave us a a new lease of life. On April 23, the embassy sent us three cars to take us to Port of Sudan,” added Raghuveer.
On April 14, the news of clashes stated reaching the compound of Omega Steel Plant. Raghu and a few of his colleagues decided to buy a ticket to India for April 15. Unfortunately, on April 15 news came that Khartoum airport was under siege.
The real trouble started on April 16.
“A group of Rapid Support Force reached our compound. They entered the guest house, held us at gunpoint and looted cash and keys of the three company-owned vehicles. Then they drove us out of the guest house building. We spent almost 24 hours in the plant before they left on the next day morning,” recalled Gajanand Sharma, Raghuveer’s colleague.
As soon as the team left, he and his friend entered the guest house and found the entire guest house in a shambles. The RSF team had ransacked the guest house and took whatever food was available.
“To our utter surprise, we found young boys hardly 15-16 years old holding AK-47s. Luckily for us, some stock was left in the storeroom. We had to ration it for the next few days,” added Gajanand.
On April 24, this team of 29 Rajasthanis were taken to a school compound at Port of Sudan. An army contingent reached the spot.
“Panic gripped us again. A few of us tried to flee climbing the walls. The people marched inside and told us, “Don’t panic. We are from the Indian Navy. We are here to help you. This was for the first time we felt we can now really return to India,” said Rupesh Sharma, another evacuee .
From the Port of Sudan, the team along with other Indians boarded a ship to reach Jeddah and from there they came to Delhi on an IAF flight.
Finally, on April 27, the team returned to their villages. “Since April 15, our only target was how to come back to our village. But now there’s a fresh tension. We are jobless,” Raghuveer signed off.
“It was tensed Saturday on April 22 when we were planning to flee the country when the call came. Can’t tell you the joy it brought to me and my 28 colleagues – all from different districts of the state,” Raghuveer told TOI.
As violence hit Sudan, Raghuveer along with his colleagues got stranded in Sobah Al Sabur, a small hamlet located around 15 km from capital Khartoum. With their experience in the past six days, they were seeking local help to flee from the country.
“It was not easy to flee a country with the help of the local embassy. The call from the Rajasthan government official, followed by call from the local embassy gave us a a new lease of life. On April 23, the embassy sent us three cars to take us to Port of Sudan,” added Raghuveer.
On April 14, the news of clashes stated reaching the compound of Omega Steel Plant. Raghu and a few of his colleagues decided to buy a ticket to India for April 15. Unfortunately, on April 15 news came that Khartoum airport was under siege.
The real trouble started on April 16.
“A group of Rapid Support Force reached our compound. They entered the guest house, held us at gunpoint and looted cash and keys of the three company-owned vehicles. Then they drove us out of the guest house building. We spent almost 24 hours in the plant before they left on the next day morning,” recalled Gajanand Sharma, Raghuveer’s colleague.
As soon as the team left, he and his friend entered the guest house and found the entire guest house in a shambles. The RSF team had ransacked the guest house and took whatever food was available.
“To our utter surprise, we found young boys hardly 15-16 years old holding AK-47s. Luckily for us, some stock was left in the storeroom. We had to ration it for the next few days,” added Gajanand.
On April 24, this team of 29 Rajasthanis were taken to a school compound at Port of Sudan. An army contingent reached the spot.
“Panic gripped us again. A few of us tried to flee climbing the walls. The people marched inside and told us, “Don’t panic. We are from the Indian Navy. We are here to help you. This was for the first time we felt we can now really return to India,” said Rupesh Sharma, another evacuee .
From the Port of Sudan, the team along with other Indians boarded a ship to reach Jeddah and from there they came to Delhi on an IAF flight.
Finally, on April 27, the team returned to their villages. “Since April 15, our only target was how to come back to our village. But now there’s a fresh tension. We are jobless,” Raghuveer signed off.
