Indian sailor Rex Perera, who was stranded in Iraq during the ongoing war in the Middle East, expressed his fear after returning to India. He said that we were very scared by what happened on 9, 10 and 11 March. We contacted the Indian Embassy. He told that our passports had been taken by the owners of the ship. We did not have any documents. To escape from there, the Indian Embassy had to issue an emergency letter. He said that only after that we were able to leave from there. Rex Perera said that the Indian Embassy in Iraq helped us a lot. This was a very scary experience. Today I am standing here safely, the entire credit for this goes to the Government of India. Rex Perera stated his age as 28 years.
He said that he left from there on 16 February and reached Iraq on 17 February. Then on 28 February this bombing and war started. Rex Perera told that when we reached his country, we had no option not to do it there. He said that but when it started around March 9th. We could see fire and missiles. The sound was very loud. There was also vibration. There were reports of bombing just 5 kilometers from his ship and firing from both sides within a radius of 2 kilometers.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Rex Pereira, an Indian sailor stranded in Iraq during the West Asia conflict, on his safe return to India, says, “… We were very scared by what happened on March 9, 10, 11. We contacted the Indian Embassy… Our passports were taken by the ship owners; we had pic.twitter.com/rng9MwRaVf
— ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2026
Rex joined to work on a ship on 14 October 2025, with the hope of making a career at sea. But, they allege that from the very beginning they were pushed into a dangerous and lawless situation. He said that when we joined, we were not given any documents. Later we were sent to another ship.
After this he had to face a lot of difficulties for several months. For almost four months, the ship's crew had to survive without proper supplies. Recalling that time, Rex said that we remained in the sea for months. We used to heat sea water to make it sweet water and then drink it. The food was not fresh and there were no basic facilities. There came a time when only four Indians were left on the ship.
Trapped without any documents, Rex faced a lot of difficulties in proving his identity or legal status. He said that he had kept our passports with him. Due to lack of documents, he was not able to contact the embassy properly. Eventually, he contacted Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the 'Forward Seamen Union of India', who helped him establish contact with the Indian authorities.
On March 12, the Indian Embassy intervened in this matter, but it was not so easy to evacuate people from there. Rex alleges that the ship's owner strongly opposed letting the crew go. He said that after not paying us our salaries for four months, they also promised us that if we stayed there, they would increase our salaries.
This experience of Rex has shaken him badly. It was my dream to work on a ship. But after this incident, I don't think I will ever go back. He said that the terror that my family had to go through has broken me.
