Kollam: They went through a fearful existence with no friends to help in a virtual 'no man's land'.

The four persons, who returned here from a US military camp after a nine-month ordeal in war-torn Iraq, were cheated by agents on the promise of a luring income offering to take them to Kuwait and were transported to Iraq from where they escaped with the help of Indian Embassy officials.

The passports of Shajahan, Hameed, Faizal and Manzoor, who had worked for "18 hours a day in a desert", do not have any stamp that they were in Iraq. They had landed in Kuwait, taken in a bus on a 12 hour-long journey to Baghdad and nine months later, got their way out through Jordan.

They have no complaints that the US soldiers had tortured them in the 'Q West' camp where they were stationed as kitchen assistants. In fact, Hameed even has a certificate from his Philippino manager of the camp Francis Buan saying, "He has performed his duties entrusted to him to the entire satisfaction of the US military clients here."

"But being Muslims, we were always under the doubtful eyes of US soldiers and they appeared to think that we are extremists and they used to threaten us," Hameed said.

Shajahan said they were forced to cut pork even when they resisted saying it was "haram" (sin) for them.

After paying Rs 80,000 to an agent in Ernakulam on the promise of a two-year visa to Kuwait, they were first taken to Mumbai from where they flew to Kuwait on August 3, 2003.

On reaching Kuwait, they were "sold" to another agent, who took them a on a long bus journey to the place of their work, which they later came to realise was Iraq.

"The agents had promised that we would get at least Rs 17,000 per month. But each of us managed to get only Rs 32,000 in the last nine months," Hameed said. The risk allowance promised was also not given.

Hameed said all the four were working under the Gulf Catering Company (GCC) and later transferred to KBR, a company, which they could not identify. In the initial months of their stay, there was no drinking water, toilets or ay other facilities in the tents provided to them. But later situations improved.

"Right from the time we got there, we were sure that we should get out," he said. They were not allowed to go out of camps except for buying essential things.

As many as 22 persons, deputed for menial jobs, had returned from Iraq, they said.

Unsure of where they were stationed, Hameed said the 'Q West' camp was one-and-a half hour journey from Mosul. "It was just a desert and we could only hear the sounds of bombs exploding and passing military vehicles," he said.

On their way back, Faizal bore the brunt of Iraqis resisting the US "occupation" at Fallujah. Stopping the bus they were travelling in, anti-American activists slapped him, threatened to shoot and he was made to kneel.

All they wanted to know was whether they were working for the US Army. Out of fear, some said no and some said yes, but on checking of their pockets and wallets, they were let off because they were Indians.

Faizal was first sent to Pal Afar camp and was given the job of cleaning the toilet of armymen in the makeshift tent, where he had to physically take away the excreta and burn it out. He was then shifted to 'Location 3' in Baghdad airport before he joined his mates in Q West camp.

He could manage to go to Jordan to escape to his home country in the meantime, but was sent back to Iraq due to visa problems and joined his compatriots at a Baghdad hotel before their journey back home.

Faizal again had to face the Fallujah activists on his return who asked him why he had not heeded their first warning. He could somehow explain his plight and get away. Seventeen persons were taken in the bus carrying them to Jordan.

One of the local agents, who recruited the four, is the brother-in-law of Mansoor, who also had to undergo the misery of facing life in Iraq in the days of war. They said many more Indians including Malayalees were left in Iraq working under miserable conditions.