On 24 February, Russian President Vladmir Putin launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. Like any war, this one on Ukraine’s soil has not only affected the Ukrainian citizens but also its immigrants, especially the foreign students.
Around 20,000 Indian students are currently studying Bachelor of Medicine in Ukraine. A compelling reason for Indians to study medicine abroad is driven by the fierce competition to get admission in India’s government medical colleges. Private colleges, though offer an alternative option, they charge astronomical fees, that most middle-class people can’t afford. Still a medical degree remains most sought-after in India, with around 1.5 million students applying for only 80,000 seats. Over the years Ukraine has become an attractive affordable destination for Indian students who failed to get a seat in India for various reasons.
Situation of Indian students amid war situations
Pintu Jalandhara is the son of a diamond polishing worker in India’s Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. Pintu's father's modest income was not enough to pay fees for medical seat either in India’s private colleges or in Ukraine. However, studying in Ukraine meant he had less loan to pay. So, he researched and found that Chernivtsi's Medical University has good standards, and therefore took admission there. After paying £5000 in advance, Pintu reached Ukraine in November 2021. Pintu who has just returned to India due to the war, says that he is depressed that if it persists, he might not be able to go back, losing his money and the hope of a medical degree.
Aditi Soni of Bhopal who is studying medicine at Kharkiv, now back in India, resonated the same fear. She told the newsweekly, “I am really worried whether I will get my medical degree or not.”
Siddhant Sahay who is a 4th year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University hails from Vadodara in Gujarat. His father is now retired from his private job. In 2018, Siddhant finished school in India. He was not able to get admission in a government medical college. The MBBS seat he was able to secure, required him to spend at least £80,000 just as course fee which was unaffordable for him and his family. So Siddhant decided he could still fulfill his dream of become a doctor, if they can spend £35,000 spread over next six years, by taking admission in Ukraine. So, he took an admission there, by paying from his retired father's precious savings.
Siddhant who has now returned to India, fears that there is a risk of losing £20,000 of his fees and
wasting the years he has spent studying in Ukraine. Speaking to Asian Voice, he said, “Even if education resumes after the war, as India’s policies sort of favours Russia, there is a risk that we might have to bear the hatred of locals.”
When he was trying to reach India, he felt hurt by the racist treatments he met with, at the railway
station, while trying to board a train to Lviv and crossing over to Poland.
Chandni Patel (name changed on request) says Kharkiv was getting bombed when she and her flatmates decided to leave for India. A group of 15 students started walking to the railway station at 5 in the morning. The road passed through the city center, and they met Ukrainian and Russian soldiers at separate points, who checked their papers and let them go. After walking for two hours, they reached the railway station only to find that it was so over-crowded, there was absolutely no place even to stand. While they were waiting outside the station, the place started to get bombed. They tried but were unable to board the train they wanted, as Ukrainian police gave priority to their own citizens.
Some of them even asked for USD 100 per foreign student to let them in. With great difficulty they were able to board a train at 3 in the afternoon, where there was no place to sit, even on the floor for the 14-hour journey.
Diaspora in Poland helping people from all countries
In between deep crises, there are some people who have made humanity proud. A 28-year-old Gruhang Patel who is in food delivery services was deeply moved by the problems of people who crossed the border from Ukraine. Gruhang who lives in Warsaw, Poland inspired by Guru Pramukhswami Maharaj and Guru Mahantswami Maharaj decided to provide free food and accommodation to all those who had come from the war-torn country. He took help from his friends to arrange empty hotels or houses to accommodate the needy.
He also tied up with a local restaurant called Tulsi, providing free meals to people. He thinks he has
helped over 100 people, 30 people with accommodation as well. Gruhang who belongs to Gujarat’s
Anand district does not limit his services to people from one country or religion. He has already helped Pakistani, Israeli and Ukranian people with food and accommodation and is touched by the love he has shown by the people, many of whom have invited him to visit their homes.
