11.26.2008

The Madness in Mumbai

By now, many of you have seen the news and heard about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai (Bombay), India that occurred around 9pm our time last evening. Matt has been working diligently with his colleagues here in Chennai as well as with the other Consulates/Embassies in India. He was on the phone, e-mail, and watching the news until 3am last night, and then back awake at 6am when the phones and e-mails started coming in again. I won't lie... it's a scary situation here as the Indian authorities were not prepared for such a well orchestrated attack.

I have already received countless e-mails and messages asking if we're okay, how close we are, and if we're in any danger. Thank you all for your concern... we're doing fine, albeit quite a bit tired.

We are approximately 1000 kilometers from Mumbai ~ about a 2 hour flight away. While the chaos does not directly affect us now, the magnitude of the attacks will be felt throughout the entire country as hotels begin beefing up their security, Consulates/Embassies take an even stronger stance on screening, and people become acutely aware of their surroundings. Our quiet post of India is quickly moving more towards the threat levels that we saw in Tel Aviv.

Unfortunately, our Thanksgiving dinner was directly affected as our host left early this morning for Mumbai... the unfortunate nature of the business. We will still celebrate with his family later today. During this holiday season we give thanks for many things... right now the most important being our close-knit community and our friends which have become our family.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours... with love from afar.



As you can see Mumbai is on the western coast,
and Chennai is on the south eastern coast

31 comments:

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

When I heard about the attacks on the news...the first thing that I thought of was you. I knew you were not that close...but still...it's all rather frightening. I am glad to hear that you and yours are safe...

Mrs4444 said...

Thanks so much for the update; I was worried.

karey m. said...

stay safe...

on second thought, just go home! i'm kidding. kind of...

OHmommy said...

I have been thinking about you all day long. Thanks for this update. Many thanks.

Unknown said...

Thank goodness, you were my first thought when I saw the news. I'm glad you are ok I can't imagine how scary that must be and knowing that in one way or another your husband's work makes him involved indirectly (or directly) in helping with the crisis.

Stay safe.

trash said...

Stay safe and well. Thinking of you all.

Unknown said...

hang in there kiddo... Sending warm wishes over your way... Happy -ish Thanksgiving!

G in Berlin said...

I was thinking, as I saw that the terrorists had taken over the Chabad Lubavitch center as well as looking for those with American passports and UK ones, that the terror that Israelis live with every day,is the terror that these religious psychotics are attempting to bring to the US, to Soain, to London: to all the bastions of whta they consider an evil freedom. India and Bali are the soft underbelly.
I'm glad that you and yours are far away.

Diane Mandy said...

I've been thinking of you, too. Keep safe! It's such a sad day today!

Martin said...

Enjoy your alternatve Thanksgiving!

Heidi said...

I am thinking about you and praying that everything stays safe for your family. I hope you do have as happy of a Thanksgiving as you can.

Eve Grey said...

That's the same map I found online! So relieved to hear you're all ok.

Robin said...

Oh my god. I was away at a conference all day and hadn't heard the extent of the attacks. So terrible, all those victims.

My thoughts go out to everyone affected by today's criminal and tragic events.

So glad you're safely on the other side of the country.

Cindy said...

Jill, So relieved Matt, tbe girls and you are safe. Thank you for the update. We will be thinking of Matt and his State Department colleagues and thank them for the work they do to keep things safe for us across the globe. Happy Thanksgiving - Cindy Kent

Jen said...

I am so glad that you are alright and I hope that you have a good Thanksgiving away.

Alison said...

I'm glad to hear you are safe. We do have the misfortune of living in "interesting" times, don't we?

Michelle said...

How scary that must be to to be in the midst of something like that - even if you aren't right there in the middle of it.

Joe got a call at 230am - it was an "accountability recall" where they were calling all their troops to find out if they had dependents/family over there. He had to then call his troops, so it's even reached over here.

I'm glad you guys are ok.

The Mom Jen said...

OMG how scary!! Be safe and keep us posted as much as you can, we'll be praying for all of you!

Mom24 said...

I've been thinking of you. I hadn't been somewhere where I could email/comment before.

Stay safe. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

Robin said...

Thank you for your update, I was thinking of you and your family. Even though it is far away, I am sure you are closely feeling the effects, just like we felt 911 in the Midwest.

Keep safe.

jewelstreet said...

I was thinking about you yesterday and all the other days when they were talking about the attack!

So glad you and the family are doing well and are safe!

Unknown said...

Every time the news comes on, I think of you and hope that you are geographically far enough away that your family isn't in physical danger. Also knowing your husband must be somehow affected through his work.

Stay safe!

Tenakim said...

I was thinking about you on Thanksgiving while watching CNN- Being a dope at geography, I had no idea how close you were- best wishes!!!

WheresMyAngels said...

I never watch the news anymore and the only way I hear things are from blogs. I just read about this on another blog (the author of that blog is trapped in Thailand ( and thought I better jump to yours).

Prayers that you will all be safe.

Simple Answer said...

Ironically, we just got back from Israel and I would've placed bets that I would be writing a bombing post - not you. I'm glad you posted the map and that things are okay. Thinking of you...

Bob and Jenn Peacock said...

I am glad your family is well. I am sorry your Thanksgiving was spent without your husband.

Shannon said...

First, I am glad that you all are ok!

I've not been here in awhile, so I'm catching up... hope you were able to have a nice Thanksgiving.

And congratulations on the baby!

Claremont First Ward said...

I'm so glad that you are safe.

Amy Amy Bo Bamey said...

So glad to hear you are a 2 hour flight away from all that. My Hubby travels to India for business and was suppose to be going to Mumbai in January and now I think they pushed it back to April but I am still scared and don't want him to go. That is scary stuff and he has been watching all of it.

mary s. said...

SO happy to hear that you are far away from the mess and safe. I was panicking every time I'd watch the news...

Laural Out Loud said...

I've been thinking about you! I knew that you weren't too close, but I didn't think about all the ripples this would have on the country as a whole. You haven't written a week- I hope everything's okay! And that you had a good Thanksgiving.

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