Hope and despair: Wailing families loss beyond death

Four years ago Amarjeet Kaur, a resident of Kapurthala district, ran out of options and finally settled for whatever household work she got to earn a living.

Her children were still in school when the mother of two realised that life would not be the same anymore. Her husband, Gobinder Singh, had gone missing in Iraq. But she kept her hope alive, both for herself and for the sake of her kids.

On Tuesday, her world came crashing down. Kaur's last hope to see her husband alive fell apart when she was told that her husband has been massacred in Iraq along with the 38 other Indians.

A wailing wife said, "At least get me to see my husband one last time."

Gobinder was the sole breadwinner in his family. For the last 4-years the family - like the several other inconsolable families whose loved ones were killed by terror group IS - says it struggled to keep life and hope afloat. The devastated family says the last four-years changed everything. Entertainment ebbed, happiness eluded and joy remained restricted to days when the government said all 39 were 'safe and alive'.

Four years was a long wait and Kaur's son Amandeep Singh had to drop out of school after Class XII. He now works in a local factory to support the family. His job has helped in supporting his younger sister Karandeep's education.

The grieving family was hoping for Gobinder's return to end the life of near penury. The family says Gobinder went as a construction employee to Iraq in 2013. He took a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh.

Many of the families rue they learnt about the tragedy through television. Each family presents a mournful story of grief and despair. Most of those killed had taken debt to pursue their dreams abroad. Wailing families are hoping the government would announce monetary compensation and jobs for the next of kin.

Gurwinder Kaur, a resident of Amritsar, lost her brother Manjinder Singh in Iraq. "When the government asked for DNA samples, the intuition wasn't good. We dreaded for the worst. The worst came true."