Buddhadev Samal and (below) Ashok Rout. Telegraph pictures

Kendrapara, March 11: Tales of human despair and humanitarian gestures trickle in as Kendrapara immigrants return home from strife-torn Libya.

“But for the kind-heartedness of a Libyan family, I would have been killed in the bloody riot there,” said a survivor from this district.

Several skilled hands, including plumbers, from Kendrapara migrated to West Asia over the years to eke out a better living. When Buddhadev Samal (32) from the district’s Dholamara village landed in Tripoli last year, little did he know that he will be witness to a bloody gunbattle from close quarters.

“I was trapped in an exchange of fire between Gaddafi’s army and pro-democracy activists. It was like a close brush with death. A Libyan family saved me,” said Samal, who had immigrated to Libya for a plumbing job. “It was frightening and terrifying. I was like a bad dream. However much I try, those violent incidents continue to haunt me,” he said. A Delhi-based immigration agent had recruited Samal for a job in West Asia in June last year.

“It was February 24. I was aware of the outbreak of civil war. But I had failed to gauge its intensity. I had ventured out of the company quarters to buy some ration and eatables. I found the streets deserted and shops closed. Everything was fine till I could catch a glimpse of the armed forces. Soon, armed youths emerged from nowhere to fight the government forces. There was heavy exchange of fire. In fact, a bullet whistled past me. I ran into a lane for cover. A Libyan dragged me into his house and saved my life. He gave me shelter for 30 minutes and left the place only after the guns stopped booming,” he said.

“When I left my saviour’s house, I could understood from his gestures that I should leave the company quarters,” he said.

“As I hurriedly ran through the streets to the company quarters, I saw two to three injured persons crying for help,” Samal said.

The lure of attractive salary and the need to shoulder his family burning had forced Samal to go to Libya. “My mother Ramadevi had opposed my journey to Libya,” said Samal.

Experience of 28-year-old Ashok Rout from Mangarajpur under Rajnagar block was less tumultuous. “I was safe there as I never went out during the disturbances,” he said.

After fleeing riot-hit Libya, both the immigrants have managed to reach the safety of their homes in Kendrapara.