The relief was evident on their faces as they reunited with their parents on Sunday evening after spending days in a war zone, but the plight of friends still trapped in Ukraine and an uncertain academic future remain sources of worry for them.
''Our evacuation was relatively easier as our university is in the west of Ukraine. Still, it was a relief to cross over to Romania. But there are many students still stranded in eastern cities like Kharkiv who have taken refuge in bunkers,'' Arishma Harish, a fourth-year medical student of Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU), said on her arrival at the Thiruvananthapuram airport where she was received with joyful hugs by her mother and grandmother.
Arishma was among the 25 medical students who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on board two flights after fleeing war-hit Ukraine. Of the 25 youngsters, 23 were from the district, and two from neighbouring Kollam. Almost all of them are pursuing a medical degree at BSMU that is in the western city of Chernivtsi.
The first flight carrying 19 students who were evacuated to New Delhi and Mumbai arrived by 6.30 p.m. via Chennai. Ministers V. Sivankutty, G.R. Anil, Antony Raju, Mayor Arya Rajendran, and District Collector Navjot Khosa received them at the airport. Two hours later, six more students arrived in the State capital on board another flight that came via Hyderabad.
The students said their university had kept them safe as tensions with Russia escalated. Unlike Indians still trapped in eastern cities like Kharkiv, they had made it to the border safely where they were met by Romanian and Indian embassy officials.
Many of them were preparing for their semester exams. One student was in his final year, awaiting the graduation ceremony and an European Union exam. ''We crossed over to Romania on Friday. Many of my friends are still waiting to be evacuated. Some have made it safely to Romania,'' said Abhirami Ajit Kumar, a fourth-year student at BSMU. For BSMU student Akshaya P.S., the ordeal is not yet over. The first-year student arrived by the 6.30 p.m. flight, but she is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her brother, Arjun, a fourth-year student of the same university, who is awaiting evacuation after crossing over to Romania.
The war has disrupted the academic calendar of these students, and they are not sure when, or if, they can resume their studies. For now, the university had declared a holiday till March 12, they said. With war breaking out, online classes too were suspended.
''The situation is so uncertain in Ukraine. We hear that students trapped in Kharkiv are running short of food. They have no idea what to do,'' said Anagha A.L., who was preparing for her second semester exams. ''I want to go back when all this is over,'' she added.
Officials of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport said the airport had opened a help desk for students arriving from Ukraine.
