News Desk :
“Alhamdulillah (praise be to Almighty).” That’s the only word Sohan’s mother was repeating to her loving son over the phone after his safe arrival in Hungary from Ukraine.
Sohanur Rahman Sohan, one of the Bangladeshi students in Ukraine, had never thought that he would go through such moments full of uncertainties in his life on a foreign land far from his mother and only brother, reports UNB.
“It’s my mother whom I made the first call to after crossing the Ukraine-Hungary border and getting settled in Budapest. She was continuously turning to the Almighty in dua and kept offering Namaj seeking my safety,” Sohan told the news agency over phone as he describes how life by its very nature is a test.
The 23-year-old young man, a medical student of Uzhhorod National University, Ukraine got into trouble when he along with his two friends went to Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, from Uzhhorod to see off one of his Indian friends just a day before Russian forces launched attacks on Ukraine.
“The following day, I felt so helpless. I got very frustrated when cars kept refusing to take me and my friends to my city Uzhhorod due to long distance,” said Sohan, noting that he feared his dream to complete study from a leading university which has a rich history of more than six decades in the field of medical education would get shattered halfway.
After a long wait, they managed to convince a car driver at a very expensive fare while Sohan kept updating his mother about everything.
By this time, they joined the WhatsApp group created by Bangladesh Mission in Poland which ultimately helped them find a way on how they can cross the border and enter Hungary.
“There was a fear in my mind until we got the car. I was just thinking – am I going to die or survive? But now I’m safe,” said Sohan who is now staying together with his friends in a university hostel in Budapest. “We thank Bangladesh and officials of Bangladesh Missions.”
Sohan, who lost his father a few years back is now a third year student who went to Ukraine on December 4, 2018. He is one of the first 15 Bangladeshi students who arrived in Hungary on Saturday crossing the Ukrainian border. They are now being looked after by the Bangladesh Embassy in Vienna.
The number is likely to go up in the next few days, the government says. They are also willing to return to Bangladesh now.
Though there are many foreigners including Bangladeshis who are desperately trying to leave Ukraine, some still want to stay back.
Khaled Mosharraf is one of the Bangladeshis who wants to stay back and see the situation further. “I was never in a hurry in my life. Like others, I don’t want to leave. I still find it safe to stay here,” he told UNB over the phone, noting that he is living with his family members in Kyiv.
Khaled, hailing from Chandpur district, has been living in Ukraine since 1992 and developed deep attachment with the country where he is running his own business.
“If I see that the situation gets deteriorated in Kyiv, I will go to other cities in Ukraine,” he said, insisting that he is not willing to leave Ukraine.
