Parents of the students stranded near the Ukraine-Poland border have demanded urgent intervention of the Indian government to evacuate them to safety. As Poland has closed the air space, parents are a worried lot.
Expressing concern about the safety of the students, sheltered in an old school about 12 km from the Shehyni border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, Jofi Joseph of Kannara, parent of Catherine Jofi, one of the stranded students, says students do not have sufficient food or water to survive.
According to Catherine Jofi, a fourth-year student of Stepan Gzhytskyi National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies, Lviv, they went to the Rava Ruska border on a directive of the embassy on Thursday night. Rava Ruska is a land border crossing between Ukraine and Poland on the Ukrainian side.
“After reaching there, we were told that we need to have our own vehicle to cross the border. Though we tried to get a lift, we failed. Then the embassy told us we need to go to the Shehyni border, which is more than 90 km from Rava Ruska. As we didn’t get any taxi, we walked back around 12 km and took a taxi to reach Shehyni. Taxi driver dropped us almost 50 km from the Shehyni border. We walked 32 km, then the embassy asked us not to come to the border and stay wherever we are. We took refuge in an old school with the help of some volunteers,” says Catherine.
“Some of our friends who reached the border have been standing in a queue since yesterday. “The weather is so cold, even water is freezing.” Except for a few chairs and an electric point, the shelter does not have any facility.
“Children are so tired. They don’t have enough food or water with them. They are surviving on biscuits given by local people. Their legs are swollen and hurting from walking almost 70 km. Without medical care, they may not be able to survive,” Jaimon Joseph of Nandikkara, parent of Lijo Jaimon, another stranded student, expressed his concern.
“Students have been trying to contact the embassy but the response of officials has been poor,” the parents alleged.
“Now, they have been asked to return to their university, which is 80 km away. But there are no vehicles available. They are trying to contact their university but no one is picking up the phone. It is learnt that the area is in the red zone now,” says Mr. Jofi.
If they are not evacuated urgently their lives are at risk, the parents fear.
Amalendu Santhosh of Anthikkad, final year MBBS student of Ivano – Frankivsk National Medical University, has been evacuated to the Hungary border, according to her mother Preeja Santhosh. “It is said that there is a huge rush on the border,” she expressed her concern.
“One of our friends, Tony Shaji from Kottayam, is trapped in Chernihiv. He is not able to contact the embassy. Severe shelling is happening near the hotel where he stays,” says Amalendu.
