Lynnfield couple worry for relatives in Mumbai

When the news of a massive terrorist attack in Mumbai, India first broke Wednesday it brought on a sickening sense of déjà vu for Lynnfield resident Usha Desai, an area physician and native of India.
“It is very sad. It reminded me of 9/11,” she said, noting that she was doing the exact same thing when she heard the news Wednesday – driving her car – that she was seven years ago when she heard that terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City. “I have a very vivid memory of 9/11, just like when Kennedy was shot. You don’t forget events like this.”
Desai and her husband, Haren, are just two of the many natives of India living in the Greater Lynn area, many of whom are still waiting to hear from family members who live near the area that is under attack.
After two straight days of gunfire and explosions in Mumbai’s luxurious financial region, the Indian army was still fighting Friday to find and kill the terrorists responsible for taking over 160 lives with a series of well-planned attacks, including 22 foreign tourists, four of whom were American.
Of the Americans vacationing in Mumbai wereWilliam and Geraldine Stadelmann of Brockton, who were staying at the Taj Mahal at the time of the first explosions. Trapped and terrified inside their hotel room for 16 hours, the couple was able to escape once the Indian army arrived and are back on American soil this weekend.
“At first we thought it was fireworks. Then we saw an inferno outside. All hell broke loose,” Stadelmann, 66, told the Associated Press Friday. “We didn’t know who to open to the door to. We weren’t heroes or anything. We were scared. But my wife, she remained calm.”
As the night went on, Stadelmann said he sent e-mails to update their
situation to family members, including his daughter, Kristin Stadelmann of Boston.
Haren Desai grew up in Mumbai, and his wife says the pair lived just blocks from the Taj Mahal for two years before moving to the United States some four decades ago.
Hearing of the attacks was especially frightening for the couple, who remember spending nights drinking coffee or snacking on sandwiches at some of the city’s most popular tourist areas, because they still have family and friends living in the city.
“As soon as I came home from work (Wednesday) I started watching on CNN, but it was about 3 a.m. there so we had to wait (to contact family members),” she said. “My nephew said he had six or seven friends at the Taj when it happened. They were sitting on the harbor side facing the ocean, they said they saw people fighting and they were able to walk out. In that regard we were lucky, but my heart goes out to everyone that has been involved, everyone.”
After some tense hours of hoping, praying and wondering if everyone escaped alive, Desai said all members of their family are safe and accounted for, but that does not make the reality of the situation any easier.
While the nature of the attacks was shocking to the Desai family, Usha says she is not necessarily surprised that it happened, as violence has plagued India for a number of years.
“I think we were vigilant and aware this could happen. It was unexpected in the way that it was done, because most of what we see is suicide bombers and more primitive tactics,” she said. “From what I hear everything is chaos right now, there is a lot of uncertainty because no one knows who (the terrorists) are and what they have in mind.”
As was the case with 9/11 in New York City, Desai says it is important to the country of India and the overall battle against terrorism for natives and tourists to continue visiting Mumbai and not to show those responsible for the attacks that their tactics worked.She says those living in the city have grown up and lived in that area for their entire lives, and they are not going to leave even as the violence continues to claim lives.
“People have lived there their whole lives, where are they going to go? They should not fear these terrorists