Parul C
While the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies, the state of the Indian students stuck in Ukraine seems to be getting gut-wrenching with each passing day. Thousands of them are still hiding in cold bunkers to save themselves from the bombardment, with no hope in sight of when they would be evacuated by the government and return to their homes.
“It has been four days, and the food supplies are already running low. The food is being rationed now, and there is not enough water. Yesterday, we had some chocolates and a little pasta to eat,” says one of the 500 students who have taken refuge in the bunker in Kharkiv.
With the constant sound of bombing and air raids, their fear turns into anxiety attacks. “We are scared to death. It has been four days, and the situation is getting worse. We have not heard a word about evacuation. Some of us are already having anxiety attacks, while most of us are on the verge of losing hope on our safe returns,” shared another student, talking to Lucify.ch.
The students are constantly appealing to the government of India to take urgent measures to evacuate them. “We are too far from the Western borders. The roads are closed; there is no way we would make it on our own to any of the borders. So we appeal to Modi Ji (Indian Prime Minister) to make some arrangements for us,” said the student.
There are around 16000 Indian students stranded in Ukraine. Though the government of India is trying to get the students back home, with the war and the political situation around it escalating, it is far from easy to evacuate all the students any time soon. Furthermore, it is reported that some of the students who were closer to the western border and that managed to reach the borders were allegedly harassed and beaten by the border guards and were not allowed to cross over.
