The chilling images of distressed Afghans clinging on to flights to leave their country have shocked people. Students from the troubled country who are pursuing various courses at universities in Telangana say that they are safe here. The thought of going back at this point of time is not entertained by either the students or their families.
However, some of them are worried that they might have to return to an uncertain future in their country in a few weeks. Some of the Afghan students have reached the fag end of their academic courses and their visas are set to expire by end of August or this year.
Md Yousaf, president of Afghan Students Association, requested the Indian government to extend their visas and scholarships until the situation in their country stabilises. Around 200 Afghan students, including 10-12 women are pursuing courses in Osmania University, English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), and three more universities in Telangana. They receive scholarship amount of ₹24,500 per month from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
“The students have completed their examinations and documentation is pending. Some of their visas will expire in August and some more by December. We request the Indian government to extend their visas and scholarship,” requested Mr. Yousaf.
Don’t come back - the Afghan students were told by their family members. The students are spending most part of the days watching international and their local news channels, scroll through Twitter, to know what Taliban has to say, besides following other developments.
A 23-year-old student, Samiullah’s phone buzzes with one such update on Monday afternoon. His eyes popped wide open after watching a video of two people dropping to ground mid-air from a flight. “Did you watch this?” he asked in disbelief.
Mr Samiullah’s family stay a little far away from the country’s capital Kabul. There is silence in their family’s neighbourhood. But the silence is chilling, said the young student pursuing second-year of psychology course from Osmania University. The top concern in minds of the students is safety of their family members and all citizens of their country. They are also pressing for securing women’s rights and human rights.
The students said that though Taliban has asked people to get back to their jobs, business, and other works, the coming days will tell what the future holds. The Taliban’s rule in 1990’s bears heavily in their minds.
“Human rights, women’s rights, have to be ensured regardless of who holds the power. We don’t want to see what happened in Afghanistan twenty years ago,” said another Afghan student who wished not to be quoted by name. The students are filled with opinions on how Taliban has grabbed power, how some political leaders from their country played a role in it, and countries which failed to respond. Now, they eagerly wait for peace to be restored.
