Belagavi: Ill-fated or ill-timed? This is the question that the family of Anand Najare, a medical student from Belagavi who left to pursue his education at the Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine landed in that distant country weeks before neighbouring Russia’s invasion, have been pondering over the past few weeks. Neither Anand nor his parents were intimated by the Government of India about a possible conflict in that part of the world.
Anand left India on February 10, landing in Kharkiv two days later. A little more than a fortnight after his arrival in Kharkiv, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 27. Anand’s older brother Somalinga Najare said, “Around 15 other students from Karnataka travelled along with Anand.”
An agent, whose own son is a first-year MBBS student at Kharkiv National University, helped Anand get admission to that varsity. Given that the cost of medical education is considerably lower in Ukraine, the family had no qualms about sending him to that nation. A hapless Anand, speaking of his ordeal in Ukraine, told TOI, “We are hardly receiving any help from the Indian Embassy. Evacuation efforts seem to be going very slowly, with food and water being in short supply, my energy is draining fast.”
An understandably anguished Anand is cursing his luck. “It seems to me that I came to Ukraine to get trapped in the war. There was no warning from either the embassy or the government before I left,” said Anand, who has thus far travelled 12km from Kharkiv, sustained by little more than snacks for the past three days.
Somalinga said that Anand’s seniors had instructed him, and his friends, not to capture their plight on camera. “I have been asking my brother to send a video, which I can then use on Twitter, and tag the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Somalinga, requesting the government to work harder to airlift stranded Indian students instead of broadcasting videos of Indians returning home.
Anand’s father Erappa Mallappa Najare, expressing regret over sending his son to Ukraine, said, “I am willing to spend any amount of money to get my son back. But is it not the government’s responsibility to warn us about the impending war? We live in a small village, and are unaware of the situation in the world.”
Anand left India on February 10, landing in Kharkiv two days later. A little more than a fortnight after his arrival in Kharkiv, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 27. Anand’s older brother Somalinga Najare said, “Around 15 other students from Karnataka travelled along with Anand.”
An agent, whose own son is a first-year MBBS student at Kharkiv National University, helped Anand get admission to that varsity. Given that the cost of medical education is considerably lower in Ukraine, the family had no qualms about sending him to that nation. A hapless Anand, speaking of his ordeal in Ukraine, told TOI, “We are hardly receiving any help from the Indian Embassy. Evacuation efforts seem to be going very slowly, with food and water being in short supply, my energy is draining fast.”
An understandably anguished Anand is cursing his luck. “It seems to me that I came to Ukraine to get trapped in the war. There was no warning from either the embassy or the government before I left,” said Anand, who has thus far travelled 12km from Kharkiv, sustained by little more than snacks for the past three days.
Somalinga said that Anand’s seniors had instructed him, and his friends, not to capture their plight on camera. “I have been asking my brother to send a video, which I can then use on Twitter, and tag the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Somalinga, requesting the government to work harder to airlift stranded Indian students instead of broadcasting videos of Indians returning home.
Anand’s father Erappa Mallappa Najare, expressing regret over sending his son to Ukraine, said, “I am willing to spend any amount of money to get my son back. But is it not the government’s responsibility to warn us about the impending war? We live in a small village, and are unaware of the situation in the world.”