THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Where is the Indian Embassy, asks the Malayalee students even as they continue to remain stranded in a war-torn zone, with no update on how to get back to their homeland. While their peers of other nationalities are being evacuated by other embassies, they cry for help, as their food and supplies get over. Having to navigate the conflict region when things get calm, risking their lives to go out to buy food or charge their phones, the students who are seeking refuge in bunkers call out for help.
How can you survive on ‘Lays’ for days? asks Brijit Babu, a medical student who has taken refuge in the Peremoha Metro Station in Kharkiv, Ukraine. “My friend, a Pakistani, got rescued on Saturday as their embassy evacuated the students on Friday. The Israeli students were evacuated from our metro station on Saturday. Then why can’t the Indian Embassy act? We are getting no update from the embassy or on what to do,” sighs Brijit.
On Thursday when Russia attacked Ukraine, Brijit left his flat to the college hostel all worried after the bombing, carrying just the relevant documents and some cash. And by Friday afternoon as the bombings started, evacuation began and they were directed to move to the nearest metro station.
In the crammed metro station, with no access to food and constantly under the threat of bombings, the Kerala students share the space with other Ukrainians and immigrants. “We tried to go out to get food, but then there was a bombing and after hearing the sound, we moved back in. There is no information from the Indian Embassy and our repeated calls for help fall on deaf ears. We can hear the explosion of bombs and feel the vibration of tanks moving on the road,” says Brijit, a native of Kollam.
The students trapped in Ukraine said reaching the border via road was not a practical option. With the travel time running into over several hours to just reach the border, any journey via the road is riddled with risk of being attacked.
Shahansha Shereef, a fourth-year medical student, moved into Botanichnyi Sad metro station in Kharkiv along with his friends when the bombings started.Having reached the metro station on Thursday, the students could never sleep a wink. Shahansha also asks what the Indian Embassy is up to.
“There is no update. There was an evacuation on Saturday as Israelis wered from our metro station. Two buses came for them. If their embassies can act, why can’t ours?” asks Shahansha. For most students, the ongoing offline classes in their colleges also made them stay in Ukraine. Akash A R, booked his flight to come home on February 28. But with the declaration of Martial law in Ukraine, the airspace for civilian flights has been closed hence.
“The situation is worse. We didn’t expect that it would reach this level. We had offline classes and were waiting for it to become online and then come home. I had booked a flight back home as well but now every flight has been cancelled. We can’t say how long we will be safe. We just need to reach India,” says Akash, who is a second-year student at Kharkiv National Medical College, presently taking refuge at Peremoha metro station.