It was Anna’s childhood dream to work in Dubai. Her dream of working in the beautiful city had come true, despite being of surprising means. Standing on the top Burj Khalifa, Anna recalled how certain events in her life led her to the place she was in right now. Anna hailed from Kerala with a dream to become a leading nurse, much like her aunt. Having taken education loans and topping the class, Anna was sent to work in one of the leading hospitals in South India. Fortunately for her, she also had two other classmates in the same hospital.
Anna was gaining recognition and rewards for her services in the hospital. She worked with an enigmatic doctor, Vivek, who was known for his surgical skills. It was an honor working with Dr.Vivek because one could learn so much from him. Anna’s good remarks did not go unnoticed by Dr.Vivek. Every time he praised Anna, it always ended with a pat on the shoulder. When Anna was transferred to the surgical ward, the inappropriate touching increased as she was constantly under close proximity with Dr. Vivek. Once, Dr. Vivek had pulled her closer to demonstrate a technique, in front of the whole surgical ward.
Anna was in tears. She felt powerless before Dr. Vivek because he was her boss. He could determine how her career went. Once, when Anna was alone, Dr. Vivek had pulled her into a long embrace in the pretext of congratulating her for a job well done. Emboldened by her silence, Dr. Vivek often called Anna to his cabin to “discuss work”. Anna couldn’t take it anymore.
When a regular patient to the hospital, a 75 year old Veena asked Anna, she had confided in her and told her about how Dr. Vivek harassed her. Over lunch with Veena one afternoon, Anna was given a few tips to escape from the clutches of Dr. Vivek. Following Veena’s instructions, Anna gathered evidences for Dr. Vivek’s gruesome act. She gathered other nurses that faced a similar problem and also made sure that some of Dr. Vivek’s “gestures” were caught on CCTV.
In a month’s time, with the help of a member of third party NGO and the hospital’s internal harassment committee, Dr. Vivek’s advances were scrutinized. He was given counselling and was terminated immediately. Since the hospital wanted to retain their reputation, they had transferred Anna and the two other nurses to the hospital’s other locations. Anna was transferred to Dubai because of her good ratings. Her work permit was processed within a fortnight and Anna was leaving to Dubai. She couldn’t express her thanks to Ms. Veena with enough actions. When she rode to the airport, Anna was not only relieved, but also confident.
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