From a state-run hospital in Tikrit in Iraq, Marina Jose, relays the predicament of nearly 40 nurses like her from Kerala. "We are literally hostages within the hospital premises. There no Iraqi employees are here. We can't even re-charge our SIM cards to call our families," Marina said to NDTV on the phone. Tikrit fell recently to the Sunni insurgents who are waging war against the Iraqi government. In Kerala, Marina's father PA Jose, his wife Marriamma, and their grand-daughter Raya gather around the Bible in their living room in Kottayam and pray silently for 10 minutes.
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