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‘Just a wall away from death': 70 Barbanki men stranded in war-torn Israel, kin pray for safety
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Lucknow: At least 70 men from UP's Barabanki district employed in Israel are stranded there due to flight suspensions following the Iran-Israel missile war.
At home, the emotional toll is high.
Every call from them elicits a sigh of relief. These men are mostly from Vinovagram, Jagdishpur, Atkahaiya, and Kheri (Deva block) of Barabanki.
Prince, 28, a worker from Kheri village, is in Kiryat Gat, a city hit repeatedly in the recent escalations. "When sirens wail, we don't run, we fly. Every second counts. I've seen missiles fall less than a kilometre away," he told his kin over a video call.
In another part of the village, Achhe Lal recalls the night his son, Tej Bahadur Singh, a welder, survived a direct missile hit on the building above his bunker.
"He was just a wall away from death," said Lal. Tej has now been relocated by Israeli authorities. His wife, Bindeshwari, who runs a small beauty parlour back home, said, "Each call ends with a deep sigh. I never know if the next one will come."
Many like Santa Ram, 30, continue to work despite the risk. Employed in Rehad, away from Jerusalem, he earns Rs 2 lakh per month. "There's danger, but I couldn't dream of this income at home," he told his family over video call.
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He described how new constructions include 30-ft-deep bunkers, so seamlessly integrated they're invisible from outside. "Even in sleep, our ears are trained for sirens," he said.
Raju Singh, 30, from Vinovagram, left for Israel just two months after his wedding in March 2024. He is yet to meet his now seven-month-old son. "In every video call, we hear sirens and his heavy breathing as he rushes to the bunker," said his wife Jasmati.
"I tell him to return, but he says, not yet. The money will help us build a future," she added.
Raju's father, Manikchand, added, "The Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow save most missiles, but the falling debris... who can escape that fate?" His voice trembles. Two of Raju's brothers serve in the Indian Army, while the third one works in Jordan. "They're all soldiers in their own way," said Manikchand.
In these villages, children play under neem trees, unaware that their fathers exist only through flickering mobile screens.
Pradeep Singh's new-born daughter has never felt his touch. "She reaches out to the phone whenever he calls," said his mother, adding, "She doesn't know her father lives in a warzone."
The elderly mothers, young wives and wide-eyed children of Barabanki pray that the next call from their loved ones won't be the last. Amid the escalating war between Iran and Israel, these families live suspended between courage and helplessness, survival and sacrifice.
