Nashikite narrates tales of terror in Taiz

NASHIK: Since March, he cannot recall a single night when he had not shuddered while in bed as sounds of indiscriminate bombardments continued to echo his neighbourhoods in Taiz, a city in the Yemeni highlands near the famous Mocha port on the Red Sea. All he wanted was to be evacuated at the earliest and reunited with his family in Nashik.
And when Anil Hatrote, a 57-year-old resident of Gangapur Road, finally met wife Suchitra and their children after an evacuation process that lasted 36 hours, he was relieved like never before.
Evacuating those trapped in Taiz was last on the priority list of the Indian embassy as it was relatively safer than the other cities in Yemen. But this "relatively safe" tag attached to Taiz failed to comfort the trapped Indians much as they anxiously waited for their turn to return.
Hatrote, who has been working in Yemen for around 20 years, reached home with his friend's wife, Sarika Milind Gawli, and children after 36 hours of evacuation, both by sea and air. The Maharashtra government provided each of them with refreshment and Rs 3,000.
"The Indian Embassy sent one travel advisory to people in Yemen in January to leave the country voluntarily. I was on a vacation in Nashik then. The second advisory came in February, when I was in Taiz. It happened so suddenly. The bombardment by air started in February and we knew the rebels had taken charge of the government," said Hatrote.
He added that the rebels were backed by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. "Though he did not come to the picture directly, everyone knew he was involved. He had military loyalists and rebels were supporting them. They kept President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi under house arrest. Sanaa, the capital city, was in maximum danger. Hadi, however, escaped the south city of Aden where he had his military. That was when the Houthis began coming to Sanaa, which is 250 km from Taiz. The distance between Taiz and Aden is 150 km. President Hadi was seeking help of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations. The Indian Embassy began evacuating after issuing a pre-advisory. On March 24, the Yemeni President went to Saudi and the following day, bombardments started in Sanaa, Taiz, Aden and Hodeidah. We felt the vibrations and anticipated a big civil war between government forces and the rebels," he said.
"When we wanted to get evacuated, they gave preference to Indians trapped in Sanaa because there was no food, fuel and power. The Houthis wanted to capture Sanaa first and then Aden. Evacuation first started by air and then by sea. Taiz being safe, it was the last priority. It was not that dangerous but after 7-8 pm, there used to be a lot of bombings. I was staying on the outskirts of the city in a hilly area. So I came to the city with my friends," said Hatrote.
"The authorities of our factory, Hayel Saeed Anam Group, said we were safe in Taiz with them. But once outside, it was dangerous. We used to go to the factory, come home and watch news on television. When there was queue for diesel and petrol or a traffic snarl, we thought the next target would be Taiz. Three parties were involved in the crisis — the government, the rebels and the Islah party. Saudi provided arms to them for counter fights. Everyone had guns and ammunition at home and there was risk of street fight any time," he added.
On April 6, a mini bus was sent for them and around 100 people boarded it to Hodeidah. From there, they took a ship, INS Mumbai, to Dijbouti and then a flight till Mumbai. "Under normal circumstances, it would have taken us nine hours from Taiz to Dijbouti. But it took us 24 hours as the ship kept moving in the same place as some flights had not come. The Indian government made all the arrangements. The ship accommodated 475 people and the Navy made us feel very comfortable," Hatrote said.