Himadyuthi Deshpande with inputs from Jeevitha H.K., Rohit Gharabude, and Amisha Choudhary
Bengaluru, 9 March: While many Indian students are still stranded in Ukraine, others are
safe back home in India. The journey of the students to India from Ukraine was rough. Some
students say that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine was helpful but several others have said
that it was of no help.
Rakshit Gani, from Belgaum, Karnataka, who was doing his MBBS in Kharkiv National
Medical University (KNMU), appreciated the Indian Embassy. He said the Embassy quickly
responded to the appeal for help from him and his friends. The Embassy arranged a bus for
them to reach the Romanian airport. It also provided them with food when they were living in
the bunker below their hostel.
However, there have been students who have had a different experience with the Indian
Embassy. A few said the Embassy took charge only after they crossed the Ukrainian border
and not before that.
Sampath Gowda, from Gubbi, Karnataka, who was studying in Kharkiv, said, “Worst ever.
We tried our best (to contact the Indian Embassy) and we came to the border with no help
from the government.”
Even though he was in a war zone, the Embassy did not respond to his and his friends’
appeals. They had no option but to reach the Romanian border in their vehicles. From
there, SEWA International, a nonprofit movement that engages with the Indian diaspora
(NRI) worldwide, providing them with shelter and food.
Mr. Gowda also said that despite more attacks on eastern Ukraine, the Embassy was
focusing on evacuating stranded people in the western part, which was safer.
He added that the Indian Embassy was only tweeting instructions in the war zone and there
was no other communication.
Another student from Karnataka had a similar experience and said that communicating with
the Indian Embassy was impossible.
Gaanashree, a medical student in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, and belongs to Shivamogga,
Karnataka said that shelling had damaged the bridges, and therefore she and her friends
had to walk 15 km from Sumy to reach the station from where they got a train to the Poland
border.
She contacted the Indian Embassy but received no reply.
She then contacted an education agency, which helped her get to the Polish border.
Somiha Mukherjee, a medical student from Jamshedpur, said the Indian Embassy in Ukraine
was of no help as she and her friends had to go to train stations on their own and had to pay
for the tickets themselves.
However, she said that her experience was different in Hungary, where the Indian Embassy
was of great help once they had crossed the border.
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