Siba Prasad Jena, 40, went to Sudan three years ago in the hope of earning more money and now, after returning from the war-torn country to his native village in Odisha, he has vowed not to return there ever again.

Shaken by the turn of events in Sudan, Siba thanked his stars for being able to come back alive. He was not just relieved but overjoyed to be back home on Friday after being rescued by the government of India.

So far, six people have returned to the state after being evacuated from Sudan under Operation Kaveri.

“My heart leapt in joy when I reached home. Only a few days ago in Sudan, goons had put a gun to my head and snatched away my mobile phones and the few dollars that I had. The incident had left me shattered and I had lost all hope of being able to return to India and my village. The faces of my only son, my wife and my father kept flashing before my eyes. I was praying to god every day to be reunited with my family. I will never go back to Sudan," said Siba, adding that his friends were also the victims of the looting spree in Sudan in the wake of the civil war that broke out.

Siba had gone to Sudan to work as a cook in Omega Steel, the biggest steel plant in Sudan. “Life was smooth till the war broke out there. The company deposited my salary in my wife’s account. But I still shiver with fear when I recall the last few days of my stay in Sudan and my desperation to leave the country to save my life.”

Siba’s wife Padmavati, 28, said: “There was no cooking in our house for the last one week after we got to know about the situation in Sudan. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw my husband before my eyes. We would ask him not to go to any foreign country again.”

While Siba was working as a cook, Sudhir Swain was working as a mechanical fitter in the same company. "Being a mechanical fitter, I used to get Rs 35,000 here in India. But in Sudan, I used to get Rs 67,000 in Indian currency. Food and lodging were free. I used to send Rs 50,000 to my family and keep Rs 17,000 for personal expenses."

Recalling his ordeal, he said the war broke out between the military and the paramilitary forces on April 15. "Our company, which is a leading company, is in the war zone, about 35km from Sudan's capital Khartoum. One of the bombs lobbed by the paramilitary forces hit our canteen. But we survived as it was not a powerful bomb.”

Sudhir said the luck was with them. “As the internet was still working, our manager was able to get in touch with the embassy. And the arrangement was made for our evacuation. Each moment was tough."

"Our manager had taken away all our passports and kept them in an underground vault to avoid damage during bombing," he said.

Sudhir's colleague Amar Kumar Bala, 28, another mechanical fitter, said: “We took the risk of stepping out of the company premises around 9am in the morning on April 23. When we stepped out, we saw mangled buses, cars and other vehicles on the roads. We cannot forget that 14-hour journey that took us to the port of Sudan. Once we reached the port, the Indian navy welcomed us and we were relieved. From there we were shifted to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and from Jeddah, we reached Delhi by plane. Once we reached Delhi, the Odisha government took care of us and arranged for our air travel from Delhi to Bhubaneswar."

Asked why he went to Sudan, Bala said: “Earlier I was working in South Africa. In 2021, I came to Odisha for the marriage of my sister. When I was preparing to leave for Africa, the lockdown was announced. I was unable to go back. I remained jobless. Hence when I got the job offer from Sudan, I readily agreed. Now I am trying to go to Singapore. People like us go to foreign countries only in the hope of earning more money."