With the Taliban gaining control over Afghanistan, students of the war-ravaged nation in different institutions in Odisha are shaken.
Over 20 students from Afghanistan are pursuing higher studies in Odisha, including nine in the National Institute Technology (NIT), Rourkela. Students said they were in constant touch with their family members stranded in different provinces of their country.
“I had never imagined that our lives would take such a sudden turn. My father, who used to work in Afghanistan’s election commission, could be targeted by the Taliban at any moment,” said Mohmmed Yusuf (name changed), a third-year student of B. Tech (civil engineering).
Mr. Yusuf said, “The general statement circulated by the Taliban that life would be as usual before is just hogwash. Taliban, aided by ex-army personnel from Pakistan, have all details about ordinary Afghan citizens. They know who was working where. After 11 p.m. every day, people are called out from houses and asked to tell the whereabouts of others.”
“I heard from my parents that some people I know have already disappeared. My younger brothers are confined to our house in Kabul,” he said.
Another student, Sadiq Ali (name changed), a fourth-year computer science student at NIT, Rourkela, narrated, “My parents were working in the education department at Kandahar. They, along with my brother and sister, fled to Kabul after Kandahar was captured by the Taliban.”
“At Kandahar, my cousin brother was killed by Taliban forces when he refused to follow their diktat. Worried over the incidents, they have taken shelter in another person’s house. Taliban militants are, however, asking for the identity of people by knocking their doors,” he said.
“Teenagers without a moustache and beard are the most vulnerable. While people with long hair and a beard can mingle with the Taliban cadre, younger boys are easily distinguished,” Mr. Ali said, narrating the problem faced by his brother and other friends.
“Two girls, who returned to Afghanistan after completing graduating in civil engineering and computer science at NIT Rourkela, are ruing their fate. They told us over phone that had the Taliban taken over our country five months ago, they would not have returned home,” Mr. Yusuf said.
Most of the Afghan students at NIT, Rourkela said they were staring at an uncertain future as their parents could no longer fund their stay.
These students came to India through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The Regional Director of ICCR, Bhubaneswar, assured that students from Afghanistan were being taken care of.
Though 51 students have taken admission at the city-based KIIT University, only eight of them are now present on the campus. University authorities said they are safe. Two other students from the war-torn country are pursuing their studies at the Utkal University and International Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar.