Afghan students call for unity to trounce Taliban

Bhubaneswar: With the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, the country and its people are going through a rough phase as images and videos continue to emerge showing people’s helplessness over there.

Many students who are studying here appealed to Indian government and other countries to come to the rescue of the helpless people of Afghanistan.

As uncertainty looms large, many Afghan students staying in Odisha are spending sleepless nights worrying about their families in their homeland.

Orissa POST spoke to a few Afghan students studying in different colleges, universities and institutes in Odisha about the prevailing situation there, the condition of their family members and relatives and how are they coping up with this situation and about their future plans.

A final year Civil Engineering student of NIT Rourkela whose family resides in Capital city of Kabul, on condition of anonymity, said that the situation is tumultuous there and his family is living under utter fear and in isolation. He said that his father is a government employee and the Taliban people are visiting their neighbourhood in search of government employees every day. It is alleged that the Taliban are torturing government employees.

At present, nine students from Afghanistan are studying in NIT Rourkela and are in constant talks with Afghan Embassy who are not able to provide any help to them as the previous government has lost control over everything.

Ferdaws Sayadi, a resident of Baghlan province in North Afghanistan studying BBA at KIIT University for the last two years, said, “The situation in their area is presently normal but we can’t guarantee that for long. My family is safe now but not sure about tomorrow.”

Sayadi said that the Taliban are incapable of ruling a country and that they are basically a ‘fighting’ group. “My father is a doctor and my family is presently stuck inside the house with no hope to go anywhere. I’m planning to bring my family to India and am in talk with government officials. But I’m not sure as to how much time will it take.”

Asadullah Amiri of Parwan province who is also studying BBA at KIIT University for two years said that the Taliban can never rule with peace as their track record shows sufferings of people and right to life was under threat. “Therefore, I request India and other countries to come forward and provide safety and security to people of Afghanistan which should be main priority now.”

Eight students from Afghanistan are studying in KIIT university.

Ehsan Ullah Noori, a student of M SC in Computer Science at Utkal University is also worried about the safety of his family members. He said that the Taliban are destroying the peace and tranquility of the region. If the Taliban are not stopped now, they would destroy all the possibilities of Afghanistan becoming a democratic country, he added.

Meanwhile, Utkal University Vice-Chancellor Sabita Acharya said that she spoke to Noori personally. His father and brothers were working in government offices in Afghanistan, she said. Their accounts have been seized. He is in severe mental trauma, Acharya stated.
“We are trying to console him that we are with him. He is safe in guest house and his bank account has also been opened in SBI. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations is funding for his education. His monthly expenses are being borne by the government of India,” said the Utkal VC.

She also said that 60 students from Afghanistan have applied for studying in Utkal University this year.

Arindam Ganguly, OP