‘She was going to book tickets for first visit in two years’

Mummy will call merdquo says Adon 10 as he plays in the courtyard of his grandparents Kerala house still unaware about the demise of his mother in Israel Soumya was on a video call with her husband from her employers home in the Israeli city of Ashkelon when suddenly a missile struck the residence killing herSoumya 32 who hailed from Keerithodu village in Idukki district was working as a caregiver in Israel Her husband Santosh 38 rents out a crane he owns for film shootings and that is his only source of income Before moving to Israel Soumya was a peon at a cooperative bank in Idukki Three years after their marriage Soumya inspired by her four sistersinlaw who were all living in Israel at the time went to the Middle Eastern countryTheir younger sister Sanipriya 28 returned from Israel for her delivery a few months ago and delivered a boy last weekSoumyas brother Sijesh 34 who drives an auto said ldquoWe still cant believe our ears It happened so suddenly When we spoke last Soumya was excited about returning to Kerala She had last come home in 2019 But instead of welcoming her this time we will be receiving her casketrdquo He added that Soumya was saving money hoping to build her dream house one day and had even purchased a plot a few years ago It was close to our house She was even supporting the familySijesh Soumyarsquos brotherldquoAdon is too young and is yet to realise the loss of his mother We do not know how he will react to seeing his mother in the casket He is still waiting for a phone call from her to speak with her like alwaysrdquo Sijesh said My brotherinlaw is yet to come out of shock he was speaking to Soumya when it all happenedAlso Read lsquoAttempts to ethnically cleanse the landrsquolsquoShe fell silentSpeaking to midday from Idukki Santosh said ldquoThe previous day Monday we were on a video call and Soumya stepped out of the house to show me the missiles flying over their house She said she was scared Since she and Naomi Perlman 80 her employer were living alone I advised her to inform her children and to shift to a safer locationrdquoOn Tuesday afternoon Israel time I was again talking to Soumya on a video call She told me that she was waiting for Perlmanrsquos daughter to pick them up ldquoSoumya was expecting her in the next five minutes She said she was having lunch and then she would get ready During our call I could also hear the siren and suddenly Soumya fell silent but the video call was on I heard a huge bang which still rings in my ears I called out for Sowmya but there was no response Next I saw several men rushing inside the house I feared for the worst and called up my sister Sherly who is in Israel and asked her to rush to Soumya She soon informed me that she was no moreThe family has appealed to the government to help them bring home her mortal remains at the earliest My brother has no job and his only source of income is the crane Anod is too young We worry how they will cope said Bindhu Santoshs other sister who has been living in Kerala since returning from Israel a few years agoldquoThe shelling has been on for the past four days and is happening at this very moment as we speak said Sherly Benny 47 from Ashdod city a 20minute drive from Ashkelon where Soumya stayed Benny is also a caregiver Every time a missile is detected and destroyed a siren goes off alerting the public to rush to a secured place in their home or in the locality I have been here for the past 12 years and this is the first time I am witnessing it firsthandrdquo she told middayThe ruins of the house where Soumya workedldquoI rushed to Ashkelon soon after Santosh called me only to find police and ambulance there The entire house was damaged The Israeli police spoke to me and later I visited the mortuary where Soumyarsquos body was kept for repatriation to KeralardquoldquoI learnt through my employer that during the missile firing there was some technical glitch for 10 minutes and the Iron Dome battery a defence system that intercepts and destroys the missile in air did not function at Ashkelon This was around 330 pm when Soumya was having her lunch in a room adjacent to where the bomb droppedrdquo Sherly saidSherly said she visited the house again on Wednesday along with the Perlman family Naomi has sustained multiple splinter wounds and both her legs were amputated and continues to be in ICU I couldnt control my emotion when I saw Soumyas lunch plate She was still eating when death came knocking I pulled out a few handbags and luggage belonging to SoumyardquoSherly went on ldquoWe used to speak almost daily On Easter Soumya had come to stay with me Like majority Keralities who used to come to a foreign land with dreams of supporting families and loved ones back home in Kerala Soumya too was looking forward for her vacation to Kerala between June to August depending on availability of ticket and Covid19 situation in Kerala Israel has overcome COVDI19 and people have been given relaxation to move without mask Soumay was to mark her wedding anniversary on May 31rdquoldquoThe Isareli government and people at large are concerned about our Indians safety and have always been taking good care of Indians who work as caregivers here A large number of Malayalees from Kerala are now shifting to Israel especially staff nurses which is at present a basic requirement for getting a job in Israel As per the rule here 80 per cent of the caregivers monthly salary R120 lakhs is paid by the Israel government and the family has to bear the remaining 20 per cent along with lodgingrdquoldquoI would appeal to both Indian government and authorities in Israel to provide all support to dispatch Soumyarsquos body back to Kerala at the earliest We are anticipating the Ben Gurion International airport is at present shut due to the ongoing shelling and there are no direct flights to India at this moment We are hoping that by next Tuesday May 17 there may be a flight to India Till then the body will remain in the mortuaryrdquo said SherlyWhat government sayHarikrishnan Namboothiri K the CEO of NonResident Keralites Affairs government of Kerala said ldquoWe have taken up this matter with the Indian mission in Israel and we are in constant touch for early repatriation of her mortal remains to homeland We are following up with the Indian Ambassador to Israelrdquo