Jayankondam student, who went to Uzhhorod varsity in Ukraine, glad to be back home

Evacuation effort facilitated by university staff in Ukraine

It was a happy homecoming for Keerthana Selvam, 19, who was among the first few batches of Indian students to be evacuated from the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod this week. “I am very relieved to be back at home, even though we were relatively protected from the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Ms. Selvam told The Hindu.

A resident of Jayankondam in Ariyalur district, Ms. Selvam is a first-year medical student at the Uzhhorod National University. “I heard about this place from a friend’s sister and got admission last year. I went to Ukraine in December 2021, but have had to return after barely two months there,” she said.

Even though Uzhhorod was not subject to bombing, Ms. Selvam said the university staff were instrumental in arranging their evacuation when the Russian attacks began. They gathered the 170 Indian students on campus and organised four buses for them, with 50 passengers allotted per bus.

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“We were transported in a convoy to the Hungary border, and we kept in touch by text messaging within the bus group leaders, because the phone network was erratic. There was a nine-hour delay at the checkpoint, but we were finally able to make it to the Budapest airport. After an overnight wait there, we boarded a Delhi-bound flight. I arrived in Chennai on February 28, around 1.40 a.m. Like the other students, I returned to Jayankondam by a cab assigned by the State government,” she said.

Ms. Selvam, whose father is a businessman and mother a teacher, would like to return to Uzhgorod to complete her studies. “Classes have been made online for the next semester. But I am hoping they will call us back for the second year in September,” she said.

Though she is happy to be back with her family, Ms. Selvam is saddened by the precarious situation that other Indian students are facing in the conflict zone. “Our parents sent us off to study with many dreams for our bright future. I hope the stranded students will return home safely,” she said.