As many as 20,000 Indians including thousands of students were stuck in war-torn Ukraine, desperate to come back home. Visuals of students pleading to the Indian Embassy in Ukraine and the government for help went viral. According to NDTV, 469 Indian nationals have already been evacuated from Ukraine, but that still leaves an overwhelming number of Indians behind.
Speaking to an Aaj Tak journalist, an Indian student who is stuck on the Ukraine-Romanian border with 5,000 others addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview. She said, “Modi ji aap kaha the, ek mahine se aap UP election me busy the. Aaj yaha pe koi US citizen toh nahi fasa hai, Biden ko kaise pata chala aur aapko kaise nahi pata chala, hum lagataar aapko mail kar rahe hain.”
This roughly translates to, “Modi ji, where are you? You have been busy for a month for the UP elections. There are no US citizens stuck here. How did Biden know about the war and you didn’t? We have been continuously mailing you.”
She further went on to say that the students were asked to arrive at the border and so they did. However, there were allegedly only 2 officials to help.
“Aapne bola border pe aao, hum border pe khade hai. Yaha pe kya madat hai? Yaha sirf 2 log hai. 2 log se 20,000 bachche nikal payenge? (You asked us to arrive at the border and we did so. But what help are we getting here? There are just 2 officials present. Will they be able to help 20,000 people?)”
Have a look at the video here:
"Modi ji aap kaha the, ek mahine se aap UP election me busy the. Aaj yaha pe koi US citizen toh nahi fasa hai, Biden ko kaise pata chala aur aapko kaise nahi pata chala, hum lagataar aapko mail kar rahe hain" Student in Ukraine. #UkraineRussiaWar #RussiaUkraine pic.twitter.com/ilXbAu6xov
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) February 27, 2022
The student further went on to claim that they were asked to arrive at the border themselves, risking their lives while there were continuous bombings outside. She added that the embassy officials aren’t able to help much as there are not many officials present in the first place.
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) February 27, 2022
We hope that the Indian government is able to help the remaining Indians stuck in Ukraine.