Time To Block It Out And Play With The Kids
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday December 1, 2008
AFTER being trapped for 38 hours in a Mumbai hotel fearing he might never see his wife and two children again, Garrick Harvison has returned home to his loved ones.
One of a number of Australians now able to tell of their escape from the terrorist attacks, the Hunter winery export manager was reunited with his family in Sydney on Saturday night."That was the main thing - to get back to my kids and my lovely wife, and to remember how lucky I am," Mr Harvison said yesterday. "I'm playing with my kids now . . . and now I just want to take a few days off to get away from everything and just spend time with my family." Robyn Reed and Nyree Waterson, who arrived home to a jubilant welcome from relatives at Sydney Airport late last night, told of arriving briefly at the Phareus Hotel, opposite the burning Taj Mahal Hotel, the day the terrorists struck. As the drama unfolded they watched CNN for updates and fielded calls from anxious relatives. Coincidentally at the end of their 16-day tour of India they were taken to the airport five hours early."It was a bit nerve-racking on the bus because we knew they were still targeting tourists," Ms Waterson said. Two Hunter Valley doctors are due to return home today after coming within 200 metres of a car bomb that exploded near their flat while they were visiting family in Mumbai.Rupa and Yash Gawarikar were due to fly to Australia on the night of the first attack, but instead were immobilised at the family's home in Mazgaon, central Mumbai, with their daughter, 2, and five other relatives. Concerns are easing about the fate of Australians following the attacks. The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday that it had made contact with an Australian guest who had registered with the Taj Mahal Hotel last Tuesday but had left before the attacks. Two Sydney men were killed, another four Australians were injured and 84 other Australians have been confirmed safe.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
