GOT BACK TO MOTHER LAND WITH MOTHER

Back home, civil engineer vows never to go to Gulf - After 15 days of uncertainty, Kumar Sameer returns to Patna via Egypt & Mumbai

AAROHI KESHAV

Kumar Sameer with his mother Uma Shrivastava after his return from Libya, in Patna on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar Patna, March 7: Back home from the jaws of death in Libya, Kumar Sameer, a civil engineer, is now a relieved man and so are his family members. “It is very difficult to believe that I am still alive and back with my family. I am speechless and cannot express my feelings,” said Sameer. Having being sent to the north African country 16 months ago, Sameer was stuck in Libya amid bombing for 15 days. “There, we were living in constant fear of getting killed by Libyans who could attack us any moment to loot our money, laptops, and phones. We spent sleepless nights fearing bombing. We would all sit together and pray because surviving each moment was a challenge.” He said: “On February 17, local residents suddenly started shelling and demonstrating. No one was prepared for all that. Everything happened so fast that we hardly got any time to realise what actually was happening and how to react. The biggest worry was that we were left with a small quantity of food. So we all decided to eat two chapatis a day instead of four to save on food.” “Altogether, there were 676 employees of our company and we all decided to stay together so as to fend off any possible attack unitedly,” said Sameer. “The Libyan government was kind enough to get our mobiles recharged for 100 Dinars so that we could talk to our families and inform them about the actual situation. The Internet connection was very slow but whenever it was available, we would all mail our relatives.” The Telegraph report published on February 26 Sameer was extremely thankful for the Centre’s efforts in rescuing them. On landing safely at Mumbai airport, each received Rs 5,000 for the onward journey home. It took him three days to finally get to Patna from Libya via Egypt and Mumbai. Uma Shrivastava, Sameer’s mother, said: “Right from the time he called up from Mumbai to let us know he had boarded a train to Patna, I have been eagerly waiting to see my son. My wait ended when the doorbell rang at 3am today. I could not believe myself. My eyes filled with tears.” Choking on her tears, she said: “I am extremely happy to see my son. I will not allow him again to go abroad, he will now stay in the country only.” Sameer wants to relax for sometime before searching for a suitable job in the state itself. When asked whether he would go abroad again, Sameer said: “I would definitely not go to any Arab country for sure but if I get good offers from European countries, I could give it a try.”