On train to Lviv
Now that he was alive and heading towards Lviv, the Ukrainian city near the border with Poland, it was some sort of a miracle for Rubaiyat Habib.
"When we were moving out of Sumy of Ukraine, Russian tanks and convoys were entering the town. It is not possible to explain how terrifying the situation was. As we have survived, it is no less than a miracle," said Rubaiyat.
He is one of nine Bangladeshis rescued through joint efforts of the Indian Embassy and the Red Cross in Ukraine where the ongoing war has unleashed horror, forcing civilians to flee or hide in the bunkers.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping rescue the nine Bangladeshis. Citizens of Nepal and Tunisia were also evacuated under Indian rescue operation, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
Talking to this newspaper from the train to Lviv, Rubaiyat described the horrifying days after the Russian invasion began on February 24. Nearly 1,000 Bangladeshis have crossed over to the neighbouring countries, some are still stranded.
Rubaiyat, an IT consultant living in Ukraine for the last 12 years, said he along with his wife and two children came out of the north-eastern town of Sumy around 9:00am on Tuesday (local time).
They joined five other Bangladeshis and around 700 Indian students on a journey to Poltava, a city located on the Vorskla river in central Ukraine.
"There were fears of bullets, bombs and deaths. The buses were overcrowded. My wife, my children and I had to keep standing almost all the way," he said.
"But this suffering was nothing compared to the joy of being alive."
It took them 12 hours to reach Poltava though it's normally no more than three hours' journey. The green channel arranged for civilians was zigzag and the vehicles moved slowly.
Their buses had the symbols of the Red Cross, so they faced no troubles on the way, he added.
Talking to The Daily Star over WhatsApp around 3:00pm yesterday (Bangladesh time), he said now they felt safe as they headed to Lviv.
After crossing the Ukraine-Poland border, it will take some six hours to reach Warsaw, the capital of Poland, which is sheltering hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and other foreigners who fled the war.
Asked about his days in Sumy, he said they had to hole up in the bunkers whenever they heard sirens. Every day, they had to remain in bunker for four to six hours.
With the power stations hit by Russian bombing, there were no water supplies and electricity. The temperature was minus 5 degrees Celsius.
"I cannot say how painful it was to live in the shivering cold without any hitting system," he said.
He said Russian troops bombed an area only some 150m away from his residence. Some 22 people including two children were killed in the bombing. "We could also be among the 22 people if we were not rescued."
Rubaiyat said he had no words to express his gratitude to Bangladesh Ambassador to Poland Sultana Laila Hussain.
"Our ambassador maintained contact with us day and night. She was reachable whenever we called her. She supported us, gave us mental support. We are extremely grateful to her," he said.
"We are indebted to Ambassador Sultana."
Contacted, Ambassador Sultana said the embassy was working to rescue all Bangladeshis, not only the nine.
"We had been in touch with the Red Cross and Indians. We had requested the Indian officials to evacuate them with the Indians. We thank the Indian officials and Red Cross," she said.
Sultana said some more Bangladeshis were still stranded in Ukraine and they were trying to evacuate them.
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