‘Born poor, don’t want to die poor’: Indian trapped in Sudan

Prabhu (36), from Davangere district, and his wife Soniya (27) left India 10 months ago, while their four children – two boys aged 5 and 8 and two girls aged 10 and 14 – stayed back.

Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, he said: “From my father, we inherited 4.5 acres, but it was taken away from the government, which said it was forest land. My ancestors hunted and caught birds; we did not get any education. We thought of coming to Sudan so we can grow financially.”

The couple sell ayurvedic products, for which they say demand in Sudan, and Africa in general, is high.

Anil Kumar, another tribal man who runs a similar business, said, “Our tribe has continued to be neglected, and we have no choice but to go to African countries for a living.”

Prabhu said: “With no job in India, my loans crossed Rs 10 lakh. That was when we decided to work in African countries for five years. We took a Rs 3 lakh loan to buy air tickets and to transport materials to Sudan.”

“In a day, we could earn Rs 2,000- Rs 3,000. Despite the high cost of living, there is demand for Indian ayurvedic medicines here. When it comes to expenditure, we have to pay Rs 81 for 1.5 litres of water,” he said.

Prabhu said the bombings and firing continued on Tuesday as well.

Meanwhile, External Affairs minister S Jaishankar and former Karnataka Chief minister K Siddaramaiah got into a Twitter spat, as the Congress leader urged the Central government to immediately intervene and ensure safe return of the group from the Hakki Pikki tribe.

Siddaramaiah tweeted, “It is reported that 31 people from Karnataka belonging to Hakki Pikki tribe, are stranded in Sudan which is troubled by civil war. I urge @PMOIndia @narendramodi, @HMOIndia, @MEAIndia and @BSBommai to immediately intervene & ensure their safe return.”

“Hakki Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since the last few days & the govt is yet to initiate action to bring them back. BJP govt should immediately open diplomatic discussions & reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of Hakki Pikkis,” he said on Twitter. “It is also unfortunate to know that we have lost one Indian & 60 others in the ongoing civil war in Sudan. My deepest condolences to their families and pray for the peace in the region,” the Congress leader, who is leading the election campaign ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka, said.

Responding sharply, Jaishankar said, “Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; don’t do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan.”

“Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons. Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing. Plans regarding them have to take into account a very complicated security scenario. The Embassy is in constant touch with the Ministry in that regard. It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicize their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad,” the External Affairs minister said.

As Sudanese capital Khartoum continued to witness large-scale violence, the Indian embassy in Sudan has issued at least two advisories since Saturday and also set up a control room at the Ministry of External Affairs.

“Based on the latest inputs, the fighting has not subsided on day two. We sincerely request all fellow Indians to continue to stay where they are and not venture outside,” the mission had said in its second advisory after violence broke out in Khartoum.