Telangana: Two years ago when her son was in distress, she rode 1,400 km on her scooter to bring him home. Today, she feels helpless as he is stranded in another country.
Razia Begum, a government-run school teacher in Telangana Nizamabad district, is worried about the safety of her 19-year-old son, who is stranded in war-hit Ukraine.
Even though 260 students from Ukraine have returned to Telangana, Razia is still waiting for her son – Nizamuddin Aman, who is pursuing MBBS first year at Sumy in the north-eastern part of Ukraine.
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Aman is among several Indian students at Sumy State Medical University, located in the city of Sumy, near the Russian border.
Reports from Sumy suggest that more than 500 Indian students are waiting to be evacuated. Most of the students are said to be in bunkers due to continuous Russian shelling. The city’s electricity and water supply systems are said to have suffered from the war.
Sumy would also be cut off from other cities in Ukraine, making it very difficult for Indians and other nationals stranded there to leave.
Razia Begum prays for the safe return of her son. The 50-year-old teacher said she received a call from him two days ago to let her know he was safe. “He told me not to worry because he’s safe but I’m worried because he’s stuck in the middle of a war in a foreign country,” she said.
Razia Begum called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to take all necessary measures to ensure the safe evacuation of her son and other Indian students stranded there.
She admits that this time she feels helpless because her son is stranded thousands of miles away and that too in another country.
Razia Begum had shown exemplary courage and determination to undertake an arduous 1,400km journey on her scooter to bring her son home from Nellore district in neighboring Andhra Pradesh where he was stranded due to the national lockdown. She drove on the highways even at night to join her son.
It was April 2020. Nizamuddin had traveled to Rahmatabad in Nellore district to stay with a friend but was stuck due to the sudden imposition of lockdown following the Covid-19 breakout.
Armed with police clearance, she overcame all obstacles to reach Rahmatabad solo on her two-wheeler and brought her son home.
A school teacher in Bodhan town, Nizamabad district, Razia lost her husband to kidney failure a few years ago and has two sons, Nizamuddin being the youngest. She said her youngest son entered the medical profession so he could treat patients with kidney disease.
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