Angels in white: Indian nurses hold the line under the shadow of conflict

One nurse stuck in Iran, says Kerala official; others in the region reportedly safe

Around 32 kilometres west of Kuwait City, close to the Iraqi border, lies Al Jahra — a stretch of furnace-like land often described as one of the hottest inhabited places on Earth, where temperat­ures have been known to soar past 53°C. On Saturday, for Jasmine Thomas (name changed), a nurse from Kerala, and a handful of Indian colleagues staffing a modest clinic in Jahra, the day began as it usually did.

 

Within hours, that routine was broken.

 

Missiles and drones cut across the sky above the clinic. Explosions tore through the air at intervals that felt both random and relentless. At one point, Jasmine and her colleagues fled the building in panic, scrambling for safety before retreating to their hostel. For the rest of the day they stayed inside — listening, waiting, and silently weighing their sense of duty against the risks outside.

 

By Monday, when Business Standard reached her through a source, Jasmine and her colleagues were back at work. The clinic doors were open. The wards were prepa­red. But patients did not come.

 

This is not an isolated episode but part of a wider, more enduring story of grit, courage, and resilie­nce that defines a community accustomed to serving in the shadow of conflict: Indian nurses.

 

Whether it is the Kuwait war in the 1990s, the Iraq war in 2003, civil wars that happened in Syria or Egypt, or the current West Asia war, Indian nurses have constituted an indispensable but largely unseen frontline. Estimates suggest that between 400,000 and 500,000 Indian nurses work across the region.

 

In most locations, they remain secure. Yet as missiles once again streak across West Asian skies, attention returns to the “angels in white” — a respectful metaphor for nurses — whose service rarely pauses for geopolitics.

 

When contacted, a Kerala government official said the authorities had been alerted to one nurse from the state stranded in war-hit Iran. 

 

“There is no official data regarding the nursing community living abroad. We are receiving routine queries relating to visas and documentation. However, one call came from a nurse stuck in Iran. We were not aware that Malayali nurses were working there as well,” said Ajith Kolassery, chief executive officer of NORKA Roots, the state’s nodal agency for addressing grievances of non-resident Keralites.

 

Beyond Jasmine and the nurse in Iran, however, the mood among most of those contacted in West Asia was measured rather than alarmist. “We are safe. We hear warning sirens intermittently, but beyond that there is no immediate threat. Hospitals are functioning normally. The government is neutralising attacks,” said an Indian healthcare worker in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

A nurse in Kuwait echoed that assessment, saying there was no visible cause for concern for the Indian diaspora at present.

 

The wider human toll of the conflict, however, is mounting. According to the BBC, about 787 people have been killed in Iran so far. Three US soldiers have died and five have been seriously wounded in Iranian attacks in Kuwait. The UAE has reportedly recorded three deaths and 58 injuries, Bahrain one death and three injuries, and Qatar 16 injuries.

 

According to S Irudaya Rajan, chair of the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), estimates that around two million Keralites are employed in West Asia, based on the Kerala Migration Survey 2023. “Of these, around 20 per cent, roughly 400,000, are women. Around 60 per cent of these women, or approximately 250,000, are nurses,” Rajan said. “Factoring in the rest of India, the number of Indian nurses in West Asia could range between 400,000 and 500,000.”

 

Some online estimates suggest that the total nursing workforce across the region may approach one million.

 

For many, the message remains steady. “We are completely safe, unlike what is portrayed in sections of the media. Drone attacks are happening, but the country is defending itself and ensuring our safety,” said another nurse working in Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, reports emerged of drone attacks targeting the US embassy in Riyadh.

 

As the conflict intensifies, Indian nurses find themselves once more inhabiting a familiar paradox: Tending to the wounded even as the sky trembles above them.