Amritsar: The 39 Indian deaths declared by Sushma Swaraj in Parliament off course comes as a strong jab in the hearts of the family who are now left with no bread earners.
Being jobless in itself is a calamity these days with conditions worsening if a man has a family to look after. Many young Punjabi men have moved to the war-torn Middle East in thirst of jobs wishing to provide a good life to their families, but now all that hope is gone with their deaths only leaving their families behind.
Harbhajan Kaur, mother of Harsimranjit Singh who was among people killed by IS, at first refused to accept last year in May that her son is dead when she had met External Minister, “but fate took my son away and left me with nothing,” she says, who was forced to open a small shop outside her home in Amritsar’s Babowal village to run her family.
Another resident of Amritsar, Sonia, wife of murdered youth Sonu, took up a job of a housemaid to survive. She has now got herself a sewing machine. “Government pays us Rs 20,000 per month but it comes irregularly,” adding, “It is relief, not a longterm solution. The government must think of giving us jobs,” Sonia said.
The families of 39 slayed Indians are upset with External Minister Sushma Swaraj for not informing them first and declaring their deaths on National TV.
Gurpinder Kaur, resident of Bhoewal village, Amritsar whose brother Manjinder Singh was among the 39 slayed men, said: “We met her several times but she never bothered to inform us about the deaths and instead broke the news on TV channels,” TOI reports.
“We were told government had confirmed the men were alive from six to eight sources, but suddenly, Swaraj is saying they are all dead. This is unacceptable,” Kaur added.
Another resident’s uncle Pushottam Tiwari from Siwan in Bihar is urging the Government to grant a rehabilitation package. “If the government gives us some compensation, it will make life easy or I will beg on the streets to keep his family alive,” he said.