Students return safely from Sumy; parents worry about mental health, education

The IAF C17 flight landed at Hindan Air force station on Friday afternoon, carrying 213 evacuees, all medical students from Sumy State University.

Parents of students who came back from Sumy city in war-hit Ukraine are worried about the mental health of their wards after having seen a devastating war.

Indians evacuated from Sumy landed in India on Friday via three flights; two civilian and one Air force C 17 plane.At Hindan Airbase, Ghaziabad, parents of some of the students reached the gates at 9 am as they were informed that the flight would land by 10 am.

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Meanwhile, the evacuees also spoke about the frightening situation of war and struggle in Ukraine."We heard everything, felt everything. We lived in fear that our hostel could be the next target. We slept in shifts to keep watch so that if there was a bomb or attack we could wake each other and run for our lives," said 22-year-old Shweta Raj, a third-year MBBS student."We wore several layers of clothes and socks to sleep so we could grab shoes and run if something happened. I was standing at the window of my hostel room when I heard bombs. My legs started trembling. I didn’t know what to do. We left everything and ran to the bunker," said Shweta. She hopes to continue her studies, if not in Ukraine, then somewhere else."If I can go back to Ukraine to study, I will do so. Or I will switch to some other place. I have lived there for three years. It's my second home," says Shweta.Some of the evacuees are traumatised and those who have asthma developed bronchitis issues due to the conditions in the bunkers, said students.

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"You all know what we went through. At least 700 students used snow as drinking water for two days because there was no water, no electricity. Ukraine was a beautiful country but it has been destroyed," says Mohammad Ali, a final year student from Kerala."We want to thank each and every soul who prayed for us. We want to thank the Indian government, the embassy, the authorities for rescuing us. Some of the students were not well but are stable now," said Jisna Jeji, from Kerala.The IAF C17 flight landed at Hindan Air force station at 12.15 on Friday afternoon, carrying 213 evacuees, all medical students from Sumy State University. Union minister KP Gurjar greeted the students with flowers.