It was a moment of relief for the five Tamil Nadu students studying in Ukraine and their families, when the students landed in Chennai on Sunday morning after being successfully evacuated from the country that is fighting an invasion from Russia.
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All the five were students of the Bukovinian State Medical University, situated in the western region of Ukraine, close to its border with Romania. This region was relatively less affected in the ongoing war, compared to the eastern region of the country that shares a border with Russia.
The students were brought to the Romanian border by bus, following which they were taken to the airport in Bucharest in Romania, before being flown to Delhi and then Chennai, the students said.
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V. Selva Priya, a first-year student hailing from Pudukkottai district, who went there only recently, said that the situation was beginning to get worse when they left. “The University showed us the bunkers and the measures to be taken in case of an attack. We did not face any shortage of food or water. However, ATMs and other such facilities were not functioning,” she said. The students said that the university and the Indian agency through which they got admission there, were very helpful. “They arranged for a bus to reach the Romanian border,” Ms. Selva Priya said.
A. Sakeer, another student from Chromepet in Chennai, said that they were among the first batch of Indian students from the university to be evacuated. “Others are being helped now. However, reaching the Romanian border was becoming difficult,” he said. The students said that they faced heavy traffic jams on their way to the Romanian border and had to walk the last roughly eight kilometres with all their luggage in freezing weather.
S. Shanta Kumari, the mother of Harihara Sudhan, another student from Triplicane in Chennai, said that though they were constantly in touch with their son, there was no communication for about eight to ten hours from when they were close to the Romanian border until they reached the airport in Bucharest. “We were praying that the students would reach safely,” she said.
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J. Vivek, Selva Priya’s father, said that the relief his family felt after hearing her voice from the airport in Bucharest could not be expressed in words. With the situation worsening, he expressed hope that the Indian students from the severely-affected Ukranian capital Kyiv, and other eastern regions, were also brought back safely.
Citing the case of another student from Nagapattinam district studying in the same university, whose family he is in touch with, Mr. Vivek said that the Indian embassy there were asking the students to somehow arrange transport to reach the Romanian border. “However, they are finding it difficult to arrange for transportation now,” he said.
Uncertainty about education
The students and their family members said though they were relieved about returning home safely, they were worried about the uncertainty surrounding their education. Mr. Vivek said that the government must consider permitting the online mode of education by their university for these students.
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Tamil Nadu Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-resident Tamils Welfare, Gingee K.S. Masthan, who received the students at the airport, said that there were about 5,000 students from the State studying in Ukraine. He said that the State government was collecting all their details and working with the Union government to bring them back.
A second batch of another 12 students will be arriving in Chennai on Sunday evening, he added.
A group of students from Kerala, studying in Ukraine, also landed in Chennai airport earlier on Sunday morning. Officials from the Kerala government helped them in their onward to journey to that State.