JOIN USIndian students walk towards Poland border in freezing cold
Caught in the crossfire of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and hoping for safe evacuation from the war-torn country, hundreds of Indian students are braving all the odds to move towards the international borders of Poland and Hungary.
Despite staying close to the Poland border (40 km), hundreds of Indian-origin students at Lviv are struggling to find transport to reach the borders. Many students including girls have begun walking towards the borders even as mercury has plunged to around 3 degrees Centigrade, hoping to be evacuated by the Indian Embassy officials.
Mohammed Ali Aamir, a veterinary student at Lviv told DH that they managed to hire a taxi to the Poland border and were awaiting confirmation from their seniors who left towards the borders by a college bus.
“We were told to move towards the Poland border with Indian Flags for identification. But there is so much rush that all of them have been stuck in traffic jams extending up to 15 km. We just heard on the phone that a few of the Russian rebels have begun firing at the border as thousands of Ukrainians are also moving towards the border to flee. Once we get a green signal from our seniors, we will start from the Lviv towards the Poland border.”
Shockingly, the authorities have also closed the borders as thousands of panic-stricken Ukrainians are also rushing towards the borders to cross over and escape from the possible Russian attack. “If you look at the videos from the border, it is absolute chaos and there is nobody to attend to us. No matter whether you are from India or some other country, there is none to check on us. As the influx of people is only increasing with every hour, there is no place to camp or shelter ourselves for a night,” rued yet another student.
Several students running short of money were forced to walk towards the border along with their luggage. “There is absolutely no help from the Embassy officials. With whatever money we had we managed to come close to the border in a bus. The International border is still 8 km and we are walking towards the border with luggage in this freezing cold. There is no clue about the evacuation flights,” a student said.
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