Accra, March 02, GNA – Some distraught parents of Ghanaian students in war stricken Ukraine are calling on the Government to expedite evacuation efforts.
They said their wards were still stranded in Ukraine amidst the turbulence in the country, asserting that some of them were being stopped from fleeing to safety on the neighbouring Polish border.
The parents said their wards had indicated that they huddled for safety in “bomb shelters” as they waited anxiously to move to even safer grounds to be evacuated to Ghana.
They, therefore, called on the Government to expedite efforts to get them and other Ghanaians safely home as they make individual efforts to enter neighbouring countries, including Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, and Hungary.
The Parents made the appeal when the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and other government officials interacted with them shortly after 17 students, part of an initial 220 students expected, arrived at the Kotoka International Airport Tuesday morning.
The brother of a third-year female medical student at the Sumy State University in North-Eastern Ukraine said his sister had been devastated about the current situation, and news of Russian soldiers advancing to Ukraine frightened her.
“I am very concerned about her and what could be done to her because of the presence of the soldiers. So, let’s get her to safety as fast as possible,” he pleaded.
Another parent who shared a similar sentiment said, his nephew out of anxiety, sounded unusually fast as they spoke on phone, and thus, called on authorities to ensure that persons who were evacuated underwent some psychological evaluation due to the trauma they might suffer from the sound of blasts and stress while attempting to flee the country.
Mr Dankwa Daniel Ohene, husband of a final-year female medical student, whose wife was taking shelter at a Pentecost facility in Hungary after fleeing Kharkiv – a city in northeast Ukraine, said, even though the Government had indicated that some arrangements were being made to transport stranded students, some of others were in Ukraine as the conflict intensified.
Recounting his wife’s ordeal, he said, she was unable to pick up her luggage, only her documents, as she rushed to the nearest train station to seek shelter until there was an available train headed to Hungary.
“The deafening sounds of bombs and bullets scared me, so I had to leave immediately,” a text message from Mr Dankwa’s wife read.
He expressed concern about what would happen to the medical students, some of whom were nearing the completion of their medical training, and suggested Ministry of Education to ensure that their education was not truncated abruptly because of the war.
Mr Emmanuel Ato Aubyin, a parent, whose son is a fourth-year student at the Sumy State University, said even though he was in constant communication with him, his entire family was distraught even as his son waited in a bunker.
Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said according to unconfirmed information, compatriots in Ukraine were 1200 with 945 of them being students registered with the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), Ukraine and 29 of them on Government scholarships.
She said with collaborative efforts, as at 1700 hours on February 28, 2022, an estimated number of 527 Ghanaian nationals had crossed the Ukrainian border to various European countries and would be evacuated to Ghana if they were willing to be evacuated at no cost to them.
“It is the preoccupation of the Ministry to get our people out of harm’s way and the Government is making frantic efforts in that regard,” she said.
GNA