ALAPPUZHA: When life knocks people down, repeatedly, some just decide to bounce back, just as quickly. After the trials and turmoil of the last one year, Jithina is planning to return to her medical studies at the Kyiv Medical University’s campus in Poland.
She had escaped war-torn Ukraine after a tortuous journey, along with thousands of other Indian students, and made it to her home in Cheppad, Kayamkulam on March 7, 2022.
But Jithina was in for more shock when she received news that her husband, Akhil, was being held captive by Houthi rebels in Yemen. After multiple parleys by Indian embassy officials with the fighters, he and the other hostages were released in April.
“I will return to Poland by March 8, says Jithina, a fourth-year student. “The university has arranged clinical studies in Poland to complete our course. They have been holding online classes for the past few months, but clinical studies are a must. Some students are taking this path to complete their course, as changing universities midway creates confusion and could result in denial of approval by the Medical Council of India (MCI). However, many students, the majority from north India, have migrated to other universities, including in Russia, to continue their studies,” she adds.
“Studying at a foreign university has been financially taxing, and the Poland leg will only set us back further. The cost of acquiring a Polish visa and hostel charges will add to the expenditure. The entire cost of my five-year course could now exceed Rs 40 lakh,” she said.
Akhil had also returned home after his release from captivity. He is now planning to return to Dubai to resume his job. He worked as a deck cadet with a shipping company in UAE and the couple will both leave for their separate destinations on March 8.
“After the war began on February 24, we stayed in the bunker of the Kyiv University for five days. On the instructions of embassy officials, we started our train journey from Vokzalna to the Hungarian border on February 28 and reached Lviv, after standing for more than 15 hours at a stretch in the jam-packed train. We took another train from Uzhhorod, on the border with Hungary, and reached Budapest. We boarded a flight arranged by the embassy from the Hungarian capital on March 5 and reached Delhi early the next day. The Kerala government had organised another plane, which took us to Kochi,” says Jithina, recounting her ordeal.
Akhil and Jithina had been married for just over four months when his ship was hijacked by the rebels on January 2 from the Red Sea on suspicion that it was carrying military supplies for the Yemeni government.
TNIE had reported the family ordeal on March 8, 2022, which brought the issue to the attention of authorities and set the stage for negotiations that led to the release of 15 people, including five Indians.
We have lived through a lot and we will use the experience to build our lives, says a determined Jithina.
TNIE Impact
The report brought the issue to the attention of authorities and set the stage for negotiations that led to the release of 15 hostages, including 5 Indians