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Ukraine War: Sumy exchange students evacuated

2022-03-11T15:04:57.720Z


The only functioning escape corridor to date led from the city of Sumy in north-eastern Ukraine. Hundreds of exchange students made it out of the war zone. But her journey is not over yet.


AreaRead the video transcript expand here

Lviv railway station on Wednesday evening: arrival of thousands of war refugees from eastern Ukraine.

Among them were Nigerian exchange students who were trapped in the city of Sumy near the Russian border and were then able to use what appears to be the country's only functioning escape corridor.

They are relieved to have escaped the immediate threat.

Edward Fiberesima, exchange student: "We heard the sounds of the bombing, we had to run to the basement, saw it burning - that scared me. It was a long drive, but it was worth it. Now I feel a lot safer . Only my mother is very worried. She has four children, three of them are here."

The University of Sumy has a good reputation in Africa and India.

The Russian invasion caught the approximately 1,200 international students completely unprepared.

For days they had to wait for their evacuation without running water.

Williams-Daka Sosthenes, exchange student: "It was difficult to leave Sumy because it was under siege. We just couldn't get out. When the opportunity arose, we had to leave quickly. Children and mothers should be the first to board the train. But there was no discrimination because we are black."

Medical student Sosthenes reports that the students' own government also helped them escape.

Williams-Daka Sosthenes, exchange student: "They planned our evacuation, organized money, food and transport for us."

Along with India, Morocco and Egypt, Nigeria is one of the ten countries with the most exchange students in Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, a total of 16,000 students come from these countries.

The Egyptian Hatem Sarhan, fleeing the war, has already made it one step further – to Poland.

Hatem Sarhan, exchange student: "I just arrived. I don't even know the name of the city where I am now. I don't know where I am right now because I was brought here straight from the border. I hope that I go back to Egypt."

Sarhan studied computer science in Dnipro for five years and would actually like to continue.

Now he needed four days to get to this refugee camp, later he went on to Warsaw.

100 Indian exchange students had already landed in their home country on Thursday morning – flown out on an Indian Air Force aircraft.

They also had to flee Ukraine to neighboring European countries, they report.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-03-11

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