Chinese Embassy offered a lifeline :

Returning from a nightmare

by Jamila Najmuddin

Bombs, firing, shelling and killings. These are the only things which faced Sri Lanka's Glen Edward when he was trapped in war torn Yemen just days ago.

Hoping and praying to get out alive, Glen said that he could not express how relieved he was standing on Sri Lankan soil, safe and sound.

"I am relieved. Finally it is all over. I cannot express what we went through. We were very close to death.

At one point I had given up hope to see my family again," he said, standing close to his family, outside the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

Glen was in the first batch of 29 Sri Lankans who arrived in the country last week, after safely being evacuated from the port city of Hodaydah to Djibouti on a Chinese Naval vessel. He said it was all thanks to the efforts put in by the Chinese and Sri Lankan Governments that they were alive today.

"If the Chinese Embassy had not helped us, we would not be standing here today. They are our true brothers. We did not know where to go or whose help to ask for.

We desperately approached the Chinese Embassy in Yemen, and within a day, they made efforts to evacuate us," an emotional Glen said.

The Sri Lankan Government earlier this week announced that 45 Sri Lankans had safely been evacuated from the war-ravaged Arab nation on board the Chinese naval ship 'Linyi' and had been transported through a 12-hour journey from Hodaydah to Djibouti.

In the evacuation, 38 Chinese nationals were also evacuated, concluding the last batch of Chinese nationals and staff members of the Chinese Embassy in Yemen being evacuated.

It was the fourth evacuation mission organised by the Chinese Government since Saudi-led coalition forces launched air strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Evacuees

The Chinese military said, it is the first time that Linyi has picked up evacuees at the port Hodaydah, and added that the evacuation operation was a smooth one, thanks to thorough preparations by the Chinese Embassy in Yemen.

"Two weeks ago, the Saudi military started attacking the rebels in Yemen. Fighting got tensed so we decided to come back. Unfortunately at that time the Saudi banned air travel.

We had to then get the help of the Sri Lankan Government but we faced a lot of obstacles," Ujala Perera, Head of IT in Toyota in Yemen, said.

"It was then that our government asked for help from China and they helped us immediately. The Chinese officers aboard the naval ship took care of us brilliantly," Perera said.

The Deputy Head of Mission from the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, Ren Faqiang, who had arrived at the airport to welcome the returnees on Wednesday evening, said his government was glad the Sri Lankans have safely made it home.

"Just before the April new year, we joined the efforts of the Sri Lankan government to successfully bring back the 45 Sri Lankan citizens stranded in Yemen. The Chinese Foreign Ministry coordinated with their Embassies in Yemen, Sri Lanka, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Djibouti to make this evacuation operation possible," Faqiang said.

An emotional Bhuddika Prasanna, holding his daughter tight in his arms, said that while his only wish was to see his family once again, he was grateful that he had escapade from the war safe and sound.

China

Prasanna said that while fighting intensified in Yemen, they visited several embassies there but were unable to get any immediate answers.

"Finally we sent a text message to the Chinese Ambassador in Yemen. He replied us saying we are brothers. That answer meant a lot to us and from that day, our lives filled with hope again," Prasanna said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera, after welcoming the Sri Lankan nationals told journalists at the Airport, that the return of these citizens was a 'major' victory for the government and thanked China in assisting them in their evacuation efforts.

"China has always been a very good friend and they helped us at a time when we urgently needed assistance in getting back our citizens.

Minister of Foreign Employment, Thalatha Athukorala, said it was the responsibility of her ministry to look into the welfare and safety of all Sri Lankans employed overseas, and added that the government was 'extremely happy' that the citizens had returned home safe.

"We are happy we could evacuate them soon. Once before, our citizens were trapped when war broke out in Kuwait, but this time we were able to act swiftly and evacuate our citizens to safety," she said.While these 29 citizens have now been reunited with their families, a further 16 Sri Lankan nationals reached the island on Friday(10), completing the government's efforts in safely evacuating all its citizens from the war in the Arab country.

The evacuees said that while they will now try to forget their nightmare days, they hoped that they could someday return to Yemen, to a country free of a devastating war.

- Courtesy: Xinhua