Russia-Ukraine War: Five nights at shelter home, no flight available

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): “It has been five nights and we are still surviving on the generosity of Romanians here at the shelter camps. The embassy is dilly-dallying with our departure,” says Santosh Rahul, who is in a Romanian shelter home in Bucharest since February 28 after he crossed the Romanian border.

Rahul, a native of Rajgarh, is accompanied by 100 other Indian students including 10 from Madhya Pradesh.

“Embassy keeps giving assurances. Whenever we call them, they say that we will be taken out in a couple of days. There are several students who crossed the border after us and have reached India already,” adds he.

“The volunteers here are providing us with everything we need. But, we need to go home. I have been left back only because we stayed back at the shelter following the embassy’s instructions. We were so relieved when we crossed the border that just one more day and we will be hugging our families at our homes."

Rahul’s friend Vivek, who hails from Madhya Pradesh too, reached India on Thursday morning. Vivek says, “We were there for five days and the embassy was in no mood to take us home. When I got to know that students who have arrived after us were being taken to India before us, I decided to go to the airport without the embassy’s order. I went there and slipped into the queue and managed to get a ticket for myself. Now I am in India.”

“There is absolutely no system there. It is pure luck and our own struggle that can bring us all home.”

Many students here are suffering from medical ailments. One of Rahul’s friends Shritma Maulik had blood pressure issues.

“Her BP was dropping with every passing hour. We tried to contact the embassy and request them to at least take her first. But they asked us to wait. She was here at the shelter for five days too. The volunteers helped us with the first aid but she needs proper rest at her home,” he adds.