DUBAI // Twenty-three Indian nurses who fled the conflict in Iraq last month have been offered jobs in the UAE.
The women were among 46 nurses, mostly from the southern state of Kerala, who became trapped in their hospital in Tikrit, 140km north-west of Baghdad, by fighting between government forces and Islamist extremists. They were brought out by the Indian government and reunited with their families.
“We have given appointment letters to 23 of them to work in our hospitals,” said Ravi Rai of the NMC healthcare group in Abu Dhabi. “They can join as nurses in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.”
The nurses are delighted to have been offered new jobs in a safe environment.
“We are happy to have this opportunity,” said Smitha Surendran, 30, who will start work once her visa is processed. “We are sure it will be nothing like Iraq. My family is also happy I am going to a safe place.”
Ms Surendran, who has experience nursing in medical and surgical wards, had been working in Iraq for more than four months when she was forced to leave after the extremists from Islamic State took control of large areas of the country, including Mosul and Tikrit. She warned other nurses not to take jobs there.
“We are telling everyone not to go to Iraq,” said Ms Surendran. “We didn’t know what we were getting in to when we went there. It was a terrible experience.”
Ms Surendran was promised a monthly salary of US$600, about Dh2,200, at the Iraqi hospital but was never paid.
“I haven’t got my salary for four and a half months. The Indian government had promised to help us recover the salary from the hospital.”
Another nurse, Jigi, said: “We tried to get work in Kerala but the salaries are just not enough. No one offered anything substantial. It is good that we are getting jobs overseas. We are ready to start work once our visas are done.”
Dr B R Shetty, chief executive and managing director of NMC, stepped in to help after being moved by their plight.
“It must have been very traumatic for them to have been stuck there for so long,” he said. “We have 10 hospitals in the UAE, two in Egypt and hospitals in India as well. I am very happy to contribute to rehabilitate them.”
Mr Rai said the nurses could start work in the UAE after they passed medical exams.
“They need to clear either the Ministry of Health exams for Sharjah, Dubai Health Authority or the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi’s tests. It is not tough if they know their jobs. They will only have to brush up their knowledge before taking them. The tests can be done either in India or in the UAE before they start working as nurses.”
However, some of the nurses who have not been offered work in the UAE are prepared to risk returning to Iraq if they cannot find jobs elsewhere.
“I need a job desperately,” said Priyamvadha, a nurse who returned to Kerala from Babylon last week with the help of the Indian embassy. “Things are pretty bad for my family. If I don’t get a job, I’ll have to consider going back to Iraq even though it’s dangerous.”
Mr Rai discouraged the women from returning.
“There is a lot of scope for nurses in the Middle East. It would be wise for them to look for jobs in safe environments rather than risk their lives even if it means sitting at home for three months.”
NMC is reviewing the CVs of other nurses who have returned from Iraq.
pkannan@thenational.ae
