CHENNAI: "I am safe in my home now but the sound of air raid sirens is still ringing in my ears. I am still feeling the vibrations of explosions all around me. I am not able to sleep properly," said Shri Ranjani, a native of Coimbatore who reached her hometown on Saturday night from war-torn Ukraine.
She was pursuing MBBS (fifth year) in the Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University. After almost eight days, Ranjani had a proper meal and some sleep. Other Tamil students who escaped Ukraine had similar harrowing experiences to narrate. Everyone who reached home safely fought their own battle of survival.
"Every 10 minutes, there was bombing in Kharkiv. From getting into a train to move out of Kharkiv to crossing the Slovakia border, there was struggle at every step. I just hope nobody ever gets to hear the sound of roaring missiles and bombs ever in life," said Rajiv Jayagopi, who was in Kharkiv to enroll in a PG course after completing his MBBS from a medical university there.
Rajiv and a few other students complained that they did not get any timely help from Indian embassy officials and managed the arduous journey on their own. "We managed the entire journey from Kharkiv to the Slovakia border on our own with no help or guidance from Indian officials. I spent almost Rs 80,000 to reach the Slovakia border. It was only the local Ukrainians who gave us food and ferried us to the border areas," said Rajiv.
For some, it was a miracle that they reached home alive. "I walked amid sounds of explosions, travelled in a jam-packed train where I was almost choking, stood in a queue on the Ukraine-Romania border for eight hours in shivering cold (-3 to -2 degrees) without food and water to gain entry into Romania. I still can't believe that I managed to endure all the pain and reached home alive," said Trishna Vijaykumar, a native of Chennai who fled Kyiv. She was studying MBBS at a medical university in Kharkiv.
The students are back home but they are missing their Ukrainian friends and hope to reunite with them soon. "My apartment owner had taken shelter in a bunker with her children. She had limited food supplies but still gave me food, took care of me and helped me with contact numbers of taxi drivers. With her help I managed to reach home. I will definitely pray for her safety and hope to meet her soon," said T Saroja, another MBBS student who escaped from Vinnytsia.
"I spent six years in Kharkiv and it was painful to see the beautiful city getting ruined. Once everything settles down, I will return to Ukraine," said Rajiv.
According to State government officials, so far, over 1,150 Tamil students stranded in Ukraine have returned to the State. However, there are still hundreds stuck in the Sumy region. Meanwhile, the State government has sanctioned Rs 3.5 crore for travel arrangements of the students from Ukraine to India.