Making A Difference

They’re Gone

Families of Indian ISIS hostages say MEA has shut them out

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They’re Gone
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“The ministry of external aff­airs no longer entertains our calls; they do not resp­ond to our text messages; nobody in New Delhi is ready to meet us either,”  complained several family members of the 38 Indians held hostage by the Islamic State. They had gone missing in June 2014 and the government had then claimed that efforts were on to secure their release. As recently as last October, the MEA had informed the families that President Pranab Mukherjee, on a state visit to Israel and Palestine, had been told by Palestinian officials that they had information that the Indian host­ages taken by ISIS were safe.

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But since then, the trail has gone cold. And resentment has been brewing among the family members of the hostages, most of them poor workers from Punjab.  They are extremely clued in to the events happening in West Asia and quite a few of them ask why the Narendra Modi government had failed to secure the release of Indians when Turkish intelligence had negotiated the release of 49 Turks similarly held hostage by the Islamic State.

They also recalled the meeting they had with then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in September 2014, when they were assured that all possible attempts were being made to secure the hostages’ release.”If the PM is such a tall world leader,” wonders  Seema, of Chividadevi village near Amritsar, whose husband is among the hostages, “why can’t he intervene and seek the help of the Turks?”

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The faint hopes they had have waned following the Paris attack and the renewed spurt in bombing of ISIS strongholds by Russia and France. The least the Indian government should do, the families feel, is to either come up with definite proof that the hostages are still alive or to tell them once and for all that the government can do nothing. Some of them do acknowledge though, that informally, MEA officials had conveyed to some of them that the government had “no solution” to the vexed issue. Excerpts from  some of the conversations Outlook had with them:

Rani (Punjab): “I have lost all hope of seeing my son again. He was so healthy and handsome, but I have no clue whether he is still alive. I can only pray and I do it all the time. The government says it can do nothing. The external affairs minister has no time for us. The prime minister (sarkar) is always abroad. They are least concerned with our pain. I have now left it to the will of God.”

Devendra Singh (Punjab): Ever since western powers have intensified air strikes on ISIS strongholds and PM Modi has declared that India stood with the western powers and Russia against ISIS, we have been filled with dread. If the war escalates, chances of the hostages returning alive will reduce further. Bombs do not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. We are ordinary citizens but we feel the government has left the hostages to their fate.”

Poonam Devi (Bihar): “I have two children to look after. My daughter is eight and the son four. I have no information about my missing husband. And I am struggling to survive and have no time to even weep or pray. I don’t see any relief from anywhere. Would the government have been so indifferent if the hostages were rich Indians?”

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Seema (Punjab): “I have lost any hope of seeing Sonu (her husband) again. I stitch dresses to make ends meet and take care of my sons Karan (9) and Arjun (6). I rarely cry. In fact I laugh so much that people say that I have gone mad with grief. But tell me, what do I do? What options do I have?  I cannot afford to keep crying, can I?  Had the terrorists taken our politicians or some rich hostages, would Modiji and the government been so indifferent?”

Manish (Punjab): “My brother and brother-in-law were taken hostage by ISIS.  We had gone to Delhi on November 6 just before Diwali to get more information.  But nobody would meet us. An official merely told us over the phone that all was well and they had information that the Indian hostages were still alive.  Isn’t it strange that the government knows for certain that they are all alive but are not prepared to do anything to get them released?”

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By Bhasha Singh in Delhi

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