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Sijo returns home to an emotional reunion

Staff Reporter

He had a nice time in a Baghdad jail in U.S. custody

KOTTAYAM: Siju Jose, perhaps, the first Keralite to go through the routines of an American jail in occupied Iraq, is, once again, a free bird. And, if his words are true, he had a nice time in a Baghdad jail, in the custody of `highly courteous and concerned' U.S. soldiers, though he could not comprehend what his fellow prison mates, all of them Iraqis, thought about the American occupation. Language was a barrier.

And again it came to light that his freedom was decided long ago — in fact, immediately after he was arrested and questioned, when his captors were convinced that he was no extremist, but an Indian who was taking pictures out of curiosity. He was shown a paper indicating that they were convinced of his innocence but the procedural formalities would take 120 days (or four months) for his release.

Sijo, who had gone to Kuwait in July 2003, had been deputed to Iraq by his employer, a catering company the next month itself.

His unit was deputed to the Airbase in Mossul. Sijo had gone shopping along with a friend on August 1, when they were caught by the occupying force.

Just like camp

After detailed questioning by the American soldiers in Mossul, he was told on August 27 of his release. "Baghdad jail was just like a camp." There were 27 other prisoners along with him and they were housed in tents. All other inmates in his tent were Iraqis. "The American cared for me, gave me Indian food to eat and gave the Bible and rosary to pray." And they were allowed to play football. His Iraqi prison mates too were kind to him." They love Indians, especially the film stars Amithab Bachchan and Dharmendra.

And they like Hindi film songs to," he said. Arriving at his hometown, Kaduthruthy, by noon, Sijo and his family went to Valiapally, his parish church. The jubilant family went to the ancestral house to be received by Sijo's grandparents and others.

Would he like to go back to Iraq now? "No way. I would not advise anyone to go to Iraq," he said. "With suicide squads everywhere, it is a horrible place now."

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