Memories of the Kuwait War~Chapter 16~ Airlift!! 🛫

 

Picture courtesy: Google

They airport staff started announcing some directions to all of us. I didn't quite follow what they were saying, but obediently, everyone fell in line....Actually lines in 6-7 rows! It looked like some school assembly. There were so many people with loads of luggage. One member of the airport staff was standing at the ‘gate’ of the steel fence that separated us from the check in area, and he was checking papers and passports and letting in people one by one. There was another guy near the check in desks, someone like a supervisor, who gave this ‘gate guy’ the instructions as to how many people could enter at a time, and when to stop.

We were eagerly waiting for our turn, when the family of that annoying boy (remember my Nivin Pauly reference? ....the same guy), was let in.  Actually, a group of people were being let in and this family was right behind the lot. Maybe there was a number they went by, like 10 at a time or 15, that when they let in the father, the daughter and then the son, the gate guy said stop. The mother wasn’t allowed to enter. She panicked like crazy, and kept saying, “My children, my children! Let me also go!” The rest of her family stood on the other side helplessly looking at her while she continued to plead to the man, “I have to go, that’s my family, my children. Open the gate!” But that man wouldn’t have anything of that sort, “Madame, gate close. Now finish. I open again, you next come inside”, he blurted in his heavy Arabic accent.

He was just going by the rule book, and the poor lady was getting hysterical. “What if they board different plane, oh God, it must be so scary for her and the kids!”, I thought. Some other men were trying to help. The man turned a deaf ear to them all. Then this lady started crying and begging in Arabic. Her nursing experience in Kuwait had given her a fair command of the language. “Haadha awlaadi, daeeni adhab ma’ahum”,(Those are my children, let me go with them). By then the other supervisor guy came, hearing all the noise. “What problem, why you shout? All go India, you wait!” She explained to him too, and pleaded that either she be let in or her family be let out so they can go together in the next lot. Finally he gave in and let her in. She ran to her kids with open arms. They were hugging and kissing each other. It was quite an emotional reunion, though they were just separated for minutes.

Slowly our turn came too. The check in and immigration processes didn’t take long, if I remember, or maybe I was just so preoccupied with the flight, to notice any delay. Sitting at the boarding gate was a bit long, but it had a lot of sweetness, as I knew we were finally going to board the plane. When we finally were called for the final checks at the boarding gate, I could see the huge bus waiting outside to take us to our flight. People ran into the bus with such glee. There was an airport guy who kept shouting, “Shweyy, shweyy” (slowly, slowly!!), but he didn’t forget to smile as he did. He could feel what was going through our heads, I saw, as I smiled too.

Soon we were at the foot of the long flight of stairs, leading all the way to our dearest Air India. As I looked up at the small flag on the airplane, I,  for the first time realized that, that is the most beautiful flag in the whole world. A sense of security, belonging, pride, and I don’t know what else, just took over my heart and mind that it was too much an emotion to contain. I slowly climbed up the stairs to the plane. I’ve heard and still do hear a lot of ‘Air India airhostess' jokes, but trust me, the crew that day, standing at the entrance welcoming us, were like angels from heaven! The most beautiful faces I saw!! I remember, them greeting us with a Namaste gesture and instead of ‘Hello/Good evening/Welcome aboard', they used a very special greeting, something that I can never forget.... those powerfully comforting words...,“Welcome home!”. 

I don’t know what to say. Those words really went straight into my heart. We were soon in our seats, all ready for take off. The excitement kept building, as the aircraft moved gently forward along every inch on the runway. As she slowly picked up speed my heart too beat in tandem until finally....Take off! There were happy sounds from all around me. 

Here we were, up in the air, homebound, my family and I, a small speck in the largest air evacuation in world history! 

~priya~