Parents of stranded students in Ukraine form support group on WhatsApp

Archit Watts

Muktsar, February 26

Parents of 16 students from Muktsar district, who are stuck in war-torn Ukraine, have formed a WhatsApp group to support and share updates with each other.

Further, they have provided a list of their children to the administration, with their present addresses and phone numbers, seeking help to bring them back home.

Two families, whose two children each are stuck in Kharkiv, have urged the Centre to request the Russian Government to give them a safe passage for entry, so that they could return home.

Appeal to boost morale

I urge all parents to boost the morale of their kids. We have formed a WhatsApp group of the parents to share every development with each other. —Ranjeet Singh, Parent

Jasmeen, a fourth-year MBBS student at Kharkiv National Medical University, said, “It is quiet tough to travel for 20-22 hours to reach the western part of the country from the north east in such a situation. The government should make some arrangements so that the Indian students living in Kharkiv can get a flight for home from Russia.”

Meanwhile, her father Ranjeet Singh said, “The situation is really tense in Kharkiv, but our children are not telling us the reality. They fear that it will only increase our anxiety. I am also boosting the morale of my daughter.”

A parent whose daughter is stuck in Kyiv said, “Today, she told me that she slept yesterday after two nights.”

Another parent, however, said the ATMs were also running dry in Kharkiv. “We sent money to our daughter three weeks ago. Now, the students are running out of money there, which is another major problem.”