New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) Telling sordid tales of intolerable living conditions, stranded Indians in Ukraine said they are facing hardships in availing meals and medicines as priority is being given to locals.
Trapped inside a bunker in Kharkiv city of Ukraine, Assoiun Hussain (25), who hails from Kerala, told PTI over phone on Monday that he only had a loaf of bread in the last 48 hours.
He said the bunkers are freezing 24X7 and are overcrowded, adding that they also lack basic amenities like water or bathrooms with doors.
“We bought four to five bedsheets and arranged them together for makeshift beds. We are sleeping near railway tracks and on platforms. Our jackets are worn out because it is very cold here. The conditions are quite bad here,” Hussain said.
Indian students trapped in Ukraine have also alleged racial discrimination against them by the locals.
Recently, videos showing Indians being attacked did the rounds of social media. In one of the videos shot during night time, a student wheeling his suitcase behind him is kicked by a guard in uniform.
In another video, students claimed that they were being thrown off the train parked at a railway station in Kyiv and beaten with sticks.
Manogya Bora (19), who recently returned from the Poland border to Lviv, alleged that Indians are being subjected to racist attacks and students were beaten up.
“People here are telling us to go back to Ukraine. The situation is much worse for boys. I have seen boys being beaten up,” she said.
Talking further about the pitiable conditions in the bunkers, Hussain said, “I received a loaf of bread today. I did not get food yesterday. The Ukrainian authorities are providing food and medicine, including insulin and food for babies. However, priority is given to Ukrainians not Indians.
“We are only getting what is left after distributing to Ukrainians,” he said.
The student said getting food from outside is not a cakewalk with continuous shelling underway. Moreover, no food supplies are available in the market, he added.
“There is only one supermarket and there is nothing in there — only juices and water. We have self-respect, we cannot beg them. The Ukrainian authorities allowed us to go out to get fod because some locals complained that because of us, they are running out of food fast,” he said.
“I tried going out today, but ran back as there was continuous shelling,” Hussain added.
Kharkiv is among the Ukrainian cities where the situation is dire with continuous shelling. Thousands have taken refuge in metro bunkers to protect themselves.
Recently, a nine-storey residential tower was hit, killing an elderly woman, while about 60 people survived after hiding in the basement.
21-year-old Shana Shaji of Kerala said there is continuous shelling. “It appears as if the building will fall apart,” she said.
Thousands of Indian students are stranded in Ukraine after the Russian Army launched a brutal offensive last week.
With the war now entering the fifth day, the Indian government has been carrying out evacuations of its citizens from Romania and Hungary — neighbouring countries of Ukraine.
When asked about the evacuation process, Hussain said the embassy has asked the students to reach the western border at their own risk.
“It is not possible for us to reach borders. There is heavy shelling outside. In trains and buses, the priority is being given to Ukrainians,” he said.
Gujarat native Ronak Sherasiya, an MBBS student in Ukraine, was meant to take a morning flight out of Kyiv on Thursday, on way to India, but fate has so far brought him only out of the conflict-hit eastern European country.
The 18-year-old, a first year student at the Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU) in Chernivtsi, a beautiful town in western Ukraine, about 500 km from capital Kyiv, told PTI over phone that he had “finally crossed the Ukrainian border and was now in Romania”.
“I was part of a group of students who travelled in a bus provided by our university. We alighted a little before the border, and then walked. We reached Ukraine-Romania border on February 25 at around 4 pm (local time). There were about 2,000-3,000 people, mostly Indians at the border. It was a massive crowd, and only a couple of MEA officials, so processing took time. After waiting for hours, we finally crossed the border and entered Romania at about 6 am (local time) on February 26,” he said.
“We are now lodged in a sports complex on the Romanian side, but airport is still far away. We have been provided food, and WiFi connectivity has also been provided, but only limited number of people can join at a time. We are biding our time to fly out of Romania to India,” Sherasiya said.
Asked about various videos circulating on social media about alleged misbehaviour by security forces at some border area, he said, “Things are chaotic at the border area.
“Ukrainian army personnel were asking people to move back, but when the commotion grew, some of the security personnel started firing in the air,” he claimed.
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