Kharkiv: After the invasion of Russia, the efforts to evacuate the Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine and especially the students are going on. The situation has become so bad that the students have to fight even for survival till they are safely evacuated. It even came to this point that the student had to sell his iPad in order to get a seat on the train. Apart from this, students facing challenges abroad say that from the place in the train to many other places, preference is being given to Ukrainians.
In a conversation with the Times of India, 19-year-old Green Raj from Kerala was waiting for the train at Vokjal metro station. They point out that even inside the metro, the situation is not safe all the time. He said, ‘On Tuesday, there was a bombing in front of the metro. Since we’re down, we felt it. A woman lost her leg and suffered head injuries. There was a lot of blood there. Help was sought from Indian medical students. Later we reached Voxal after walking for an hour.
“Yesterday one of my seniors sold his iPad and paid 6000 UAH (about Rs 15,000) for a seat on the train,” he said. Raj is studying at Kharkiv State Juvenile Academy. He informed, ‘Initially our agents asked us to take cover in the metro station or bunker. We could not find the bunker, so we ran for the nearest metro station with the documents. This is my 7th day and we are still waiting for the embassy to be evacuated via Russia, as it is 42 km near Kharkiv.
Students wait at Kharkiv railway station to reach Ukraine’s western border for a safe exit. However, the situation is so critical that merely reaching the station is not a guarantee of safety. When 22-year-old Jol Jopson, a resident of Kerala, reached the station in the morning, the seniors who had left the bunker here two days ago were also waiting. Jopson said the exit process for Indian students is slow, as Ukrainian citizens are being given priority.
Jayalakshmi, a medical student in Kharkiv, said there was constant firing near her hostel and she and other Indian students reached the station after staying in the bunker for about a week. He said, ‘However when we reached the station, it was very crowded. We could not catch the train.
Students stranded in the war-torn area are leaving for the station only after getting the green signal from the advisors and Team SOS India. Apart from this, the students have got information that the Indian Embassy office has been set up in Liv near the border of Poland to evacuate them. Arshi Sheikh from Rajasthan says that it is very difficult for Indian male students to get a place on the train. Many Indian students have taken shelter at the metro station itself.
