As the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies, more and more Indian students were forced to brave the violence, trying to find a way to the border. Waiting in the freezing temperatures of the Ukraine-Poland border for hours, many such students suffered from hypothermia. Many couldn't even reach this far as they weren't allowed to board trains.
BOOM met several students at the Polish Bodimierz border and spoke to them about their ordeal ever since the invasion by Russian forces began in Ukraine.
The students complain that contrary to the claims being made in the media, they got no assistance or guidance from any Indian official on how to exit Ukraine and only met them once they arrived in Poland.
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The first Indian advisory, issued on February 15, recommended that students whose stay was "not essential" must leave. But, the students weren't sure what non-essential meant here as their institutes said the war would be limited to the borders. These students were also asked to pay their fee dues if they felt unsafe and decided to leave.
On February 23, many students slept after a usual day of classes, lectures and preparation of tests in Kharkiv. They woke up the next morning to the sound of blasts and to shaking buildings owing to missile strikes nearby. They soon realised that they weren't safe and yet had no idea about how to get to safety.
"We followed Ukrainians. We went to underground bunkers when we saw them heading there," Rohit Velagapudi, 24, fifth year MBBS student at Kiev Medical University. "There was a night curfew from 10pm to 8am and the bunkers had no provision for food, water or toilets."
'Thrown Off Trains, Lied to'
After living in bunkers for 5-6 days, many Indian students in various Ukrainian cities decided to walk to nearby train stations. "When we somehow reached Kharkiv station, we couldn't board the first train. Preference was given to Ukrainian women and children, then Ukrainian men, then Indian girls and then, maybe, Indian boys," said 18-year-old Fouzia, who had arrived in Ukraine some three months ago.
Indian boys were pulled and thrown out of trains by security guards to give Ukrainians space and let them board the train, he alleged. "I was held by the collar and pulled out. I couldn't board the train. Some were even assaulted and punched in the face," said Astle, 19, another MBBS student.
Many students told BOOM that they paid as much as $200 to Ukrainian security officials to be allowed to board the trains. They said that Indian students were 'lied to' about the trains' destination so Ukrainians could board it. "When we arrived at the station, the guards said this train goes to Poltava, not Lviv and just five minutes before the train left they said it goes to Lviv also. So, we had to rush in," said Suraj, 19, another MBBS student.
Many Indian students said their friends had to wait all day at the station for trains and some were still stranded for lack of permission to board. They walked among bombing, hitchhiked or hired taxis for exponential costs to get to the Polish Bodimierz border.
'No Water, Blanket for 13 Hours in Snow'
After trudging miles and reaching the border with Poland after an arduous journey, the students still had a long physically and mentally exhausting time ahead of them. Students said while Ukrainians were being given hot water, blankets at the border, Indians were being denied all facilities and were not treated equally in immigration queues. Whenever they asked for help, they were ignored.
Two girl students suffered from hypothermia and their friends had to wail and shout to ask for help. "Two girls dropped because of hypothermia but nobody helped for a long time. Her friends were shouting to ask for ambulances and the army men were trying to silence them by pointing guns at them," said Satyajeet Anand, 24, another student who had gone to Ukraine to pursue a medical degree.
Finally, when aid arrived, these students were given several injections and oxygen supply for a few hours before they gained consciousness. "Indians are not being given equal treatment. We reached the border at 3pm, but we could only move to the front of the line till after 11pm. We reached the hotel around 4 am," added Anand.
The students crossing the border said India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla's statement that Indians have been evacuated from Kyiv is false. Many students are still stuck in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Vinnytsia, said the students who crossed over to Poland.
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At the Bodimierz border in Poland, students are being taken in buses to hotels in Rzeszow and from there they are being sent to the airport in batches to board flights for India. Many complained that they needed this help in Ukraine when they were struggling to come to the border amidst shelling and blasts.
The students showed BOOM their call records saying they had made several calls to embassy officials, but they either declined or didn't answer.
Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs said they had tried sending buses inside Ukraine, but their efforts failed as the buses "couldn't reach the students".
"After the first attack on Feb 24th, we haven't slept nights… We really love Ukraine, it has given us the privilege of becoming doctors and the people there are very sweet. We have an emotional attachment with the country and the people. All Indian students knew that we will have to evacuate in 7-10 days, but our heart bleeds for the Ukrainian people, who can't go anywhere," said Velagapudi, who hails from Hyderabad.
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