Stranded Indians in interior Libya appeal govt to rescue them

Shali Ittaman
New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) The Indian Embassy in Libya
has reportedly told 275 Indians stranded in a desert camp that
if they come 1000 km to Tripoli, something can be done for
them.
Jang Bahadur Singh Dass, a senior mechanical engineer
on the camp, who called to give the story of stranded Indians,
however, explained that reaching Tripoli meant making a
14-hour road journey, dodging through the restive towns of
Garyan and Azazia on the way.
Azazia, incidentally, is the turf of embattled Libyan
leader Muammar Gaddafi, who is the latest in line after
Tunisian President Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak to face the wave of protest against despotic rule now
sweeping the Arab world.
Indian Ambassador to Libya M Manimekalai said all
evacuations were happening from Tripoli, but the embassy is
trying what it can to organise rescues from other locations.
Indians are based in several parts of Libya.
Evacuating them is a huge task and responsibility and the
ambassador is personally supervising the operations.
Dass said, the Serbians, the Greeks and the Italians
on the camp were taken last week to Sebha, the nearest airport
town some 300 km away, and quietly flown out of the country by
their respective governments.
Dass and some of the other Indians in the group have
been working for the Greek construction company J&P (O) Ltd
for more than 10 years. The company serves the Spanish oil
firm, Akakus Oil Operations (Repsol), which runs the El
Sharara Oil Fields in an area still with Gaddafi loyalists. It
is a remote and isolated desert location in the south of Libya
-- the nearest town of Ubari situated some 70 km away.
So far the camp and its residents are safe. The
Indians are, however, worried that if the protestors force
Gaddafi, he might retreat to Sebha, bringing the violence
closer home, and cutting off the Indians' access to the
airport there.
"Going to Tripoli is impossible... Sebha is our only
chance. The Indian government must get us out before Sebha too
is cut off," Dass said, over the audible murmurs of worried
men around him.
Right now there is a lot of confusion in the camp.
Neither the Indian embassy in Libya nor the MEA in India is
offering help or advice. The people have two emails to contact
the embassy but both remain unanswered. Even phone calls have
drawn poor replies.
"A person at the embassy said he had far too many
calls asking for help," Dass' colleague, Om Dutt said.
"Rajdeep at the MEA control room also said he can't
do much...," another colleague added.
Earlier, top officials of J&P (O) based in Tripoli had
spoken to the Indian Ambassador to request her to help the
stranded Indians. Though, Dass was himself not present at the
meeting, he was told later that even she too had no solution
just yet, other than offering an airlift from Tripoli.
Meanwhile, almost 500 Indians at the camp turned up to
hear George Markouzis, the Greek site manager of the company,
who had chosen to stay back at the site. The crowd was
agitated and Dass had to help Markouzis soothe frayed nerves.
Markouzis, himself, is fairly composed and told PTI,
"No problem here yet...The company is trying its best to take
the people to Tripoli... but it would be far better if the
Indian government can arrange for the people to be flown out
from Sebha."
"The anxiety is building. People are sensing danger.
They realise that other countries have flown out their
nationals...," Dass said.
Fears have only got worse with people having to rely
on television channels for news about the unrest. It is
adding to the confusion, he said. "We really don't know what
is happening around us. There are conflicting reports... We
are finding it difficult to assess the situation. We wish the
MEA was more sensitive to our plight here."
Dass' son Joyy, who is trying to rally help from
India, meanwhile, spoke about the worry of the families back
home. "These Arab regimes are known to set the oil fields on
fire as the last line of their defence... We fear for our
people."