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Rediff.com  » News » ISIS militia not human beings; they kill people for fun: Indian worker in Iraq
This article was first published 9 years ago

ISIS militia not human beings; they kill people for fun: Indian worker in Iraq

June 19, 2014 15:37 IST

Image: Gunmen celebrate near a vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces in the northern Iraq city of Mosul
Photographs: Reuters Vicky Nanjappa

‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters are not human beings; they butcher people at will. It is fun for them to kill people and as long as they are around no part of Iraq is safe’

‘Even if the money is lucrative, it is still not worth the risk as the human life has no value and is too cheap here.’

Vicky Nanjappa / Rediff.com spoke to Indian worker Ahmed who managed to escape from Mosul before the ISIS invaded the Iraqi city

Nobody should ever consider coming to this country, says Ahmed who managed to escape from the strife-torn Mosul city of Iraq.

A resident of Belthangady in Karnataka, Ahmed moved to Iraq three years back after he found a job at an oil rig in Mosul. Today, he is lucky to be alive, safe within the fortified Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa established contact with Ahmed.

This is what the oil worker had to say about the horrors of being in Iraq:

“I moved to Iraq in 2011 as I was offered a better salary. I was told that now that the Saddam Hussain regime had been toppled, life would be better in Iraq. There were no major issues during the first few years of my stay in Mosul. I was earning well; it looked as though normalcy would prevail over Iraq.”

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ISIS militia not human beings; they kill people for fun: Indian worker

Image: Members of the Kurdish security forces take part in an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of Kirkuk
Photographs: Reuters Vicky Nanjappa

“While there were no major incidents we were still told not to venture out alone late in the evenings as Iraq was quite vulnerable to violence. We followed the orders and continued to do our work.”

“Around a month ago, a friend of mine told me that it was better that we got out of Mosul as a major invasion was being planned by the Al Qaeda-offshoot Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. He also told me that Mosul would be taken over and after that it would be living hell to be here.”

“There was absolute chaos in the region. There was a mad rush to get out of Mosul. There was no time for us to plan anything and I along with a group of 30 others boarded a truck and headed for Baghdad. It took us two days to reach the capital.”

“We consider ourselves lucky that we managed to get out of Mosul. All stories about those barbaric acts that you hear are true. The ISIS are not human beings; they butcher people at will. It is fun for them to kill people and as long as they are around no part of Iraq is safe.”

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ISIS militia not human beings; they kill people for fun: Indian worker

Image: Tribal fighters shout slogans as they carry weapons during a parade on the streets of Najaf, south of Baghdad
Photographs: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters Vicky Nanjappa

“I want to appeal to all my Indian brothers never to come to Iraq. Even if the money is lucrative, it is still not worth the risk as the human life has no value and is too cheap here.”

“Like others, money is very important to me as well. I need to support my family back home in India. I cannot return to India as I will not be paid this kind of money. I earn around $500 per month (nearly Rs 30,000) and each penny is important to me. I am planning to go to Kuwait and find a job there.”

“While this is what I am planning, I am still waiting for the embassy to get me out of Iraq in the first place. If this takes too long then I will need to make my own arrangements and get out of here. I am being told that in the days to come even Bhagdad will not be safe.”