When Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj announced that the 39 Indian people who were kidnapped in Iraq are no more, it made Indians sad, especially those who had a little hope that they were alive – mainly their family members and relatives. The chances of them being alive were very low, although everyone was waiting for a miracle.
Last year, in October, the government asked the family members of the hostages to provide DNA samples. This made it evident that something bad had happened. If the only person who managed to come back alive to India, Harjit Masih, categorically stated that all other Indians were dead, then the opposition would have asked how he could say so without evidence. If someone had returned, then the case would have been worse.
This sad news from Iraq must be questioned, but should not become the subject of cheap politics. It was very difficult getting news of this out of the government. Sushma Swaraj said that the dead bodies of the Indians who were missing since June 2014 were found in Mosul North West, in a mound. It was not quite clear when they were killed.
What Harjit said was that all of them were shot in front of him. He survived as the bullet hit his leg.
The most painful fact here is that, for a job providing ₹30-35,000, these people put their lives in danger and went to Iraq. The condition there in 2014 was not good. Yet, there were so few jobs in the country at the time that people had to move out to look for jobs.
Although the government had no role in their going to Iraq directly, their return in coffins is a tragedy. Let us pray for their families and their departed souls. Let us pray that the families who lost their loved ones find enough strength to fight this pain.