BHOPAL: Two senior Unani medicine doctors in Bhopal are waiting with bated breath for the safe return of their children, both medical students, who are stranded in war-ravaged Iran.
Dr Ehsan Azmi, a medical officer at Bhopal’s Government HSZH Unani Medical College, is anxious for the safe return of his daughter Areej Ehsan, a second-year (fourth semester) MBBS student. Equally concerned is Dr Shahid Khan, a medical officer at Unani Shifakhana-Bhopal, whose son Mohd Haris Khan is in the eighth semester (fourth year) of the same course.
Both Areej and Mohd Haris are pursuing their MBBS at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran.
“Before Monday, my daughter said it seemed they were surviving in the jaws of death and destruction. But from Monday, the Indian Embassy in Tehran started working on a war footing to rescue the Indian students via the Indian Medical Students Association in the Iranian capital. We were particularly concerned about the safety of children, as there are reports that some of the nuclear scientists who were killed in the barrage of Israeli strikes, were actually from the Shahid Beheshti University only,” Dr Azmi told TNIE on Friday.
Originally from Azamgarh district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Dr Azmi added, “We had a slight sigh of relief when we came to know about the students, including my daughter, having been shifted by the Indian Embassy from war-ravaged Tehran to Qom city (around 160 km from Tehran) on June 15."
"As per the latest information in the closed social media group of parents of Indian medical students in Iran, our children have been shifted to northeastern Iran’s Mashhad city, which is close to Iran’s border with Turkmenistan and relatively peaceful. Three special flights will take off from there on Friday night, Saturday morning and evening. I hope to meet my daughter in Delhi by Saturday,” he added.
While his daughter’s safe return remains the top priority, Dr Azmi is also worried about her academic future. “The attacks happened in the middle of the examinations. We don't know what the future holds, or how their academic future will be addressed if the war continues for long. For the time being, all I can say is that the Indian Embassy is managing the students very efficiently and speedily.”
Dr Shahid Khan echoed the concerns, particularly as his son is nearing completion of the five-year (ten-semester) medical course. “There are around 600-700 Indian students, 95 per cent of whom are medical students, stuck in Iran’s Mashhad city. We’ve been informed that they will be safely rescued by Saturday."
"These students are from three Tehran-based government medical universities, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and Iran University of Medical Sciences. We won’t be able to sleep soundly until our children return home safely,” he added.
“Five or six days back, we were in deep fear when told by my son that there were sounds of bombardment all over in Tehran. There were missile strikes and deafening explosions everywhere. Now we are relatively relieved, but still in panic till they return home safely. The Embassy officials have advised all Indian students not to share pictures or details of their locations for security reasons,” Dr Khan said.
