By Justin D’Silva

Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi

Udupi, Mar 9: "Almighty has listened to our prayers, our child has returned safely," said a very overwhelmed Shobha D'Souza after her daughter Anifred Ridly D’Souza reached home safely from the war-torn Ukraine.

Anifred had moved to Ukraine to pursue her MBBS education. She had to undergo the horrors of war like many other students in Ukraine from across the globe.

Expressing the stress and fear they had to face as parents, Shobha D'Souza said, "My daughter had few health related issues. She had asthma and dust allergy issues. We were worried about her health all the time. We began to pray as soon as we received the news that the war had begun. Twice a day we used to visit the church and offer prayers and waited for her calls. This was our routine for the past 10 days. Our prayers have been answered and today our child reached home safely," she said with gratitude.

Speaking about the aid of Indian government and Indian embassy, Shobha D'Souza said, "Both the government and the embassy have helped us a lot. They have given us all the updates about the ongoing situations there from time to time. The embassy has also guided the students for safe passage. We were being updated regularly on the app and also the website, which has helped us a lot," Shoba D’Souza said.

Speaking about the challenges she had to undergo in a war torn nation Anifred Ridly D'Souza said "We South Indians have never encountered with bombs, fighter jets and shell. It was the first time I witnessed fighter jets and bombs. My North Indian friends were enjoying as if it was a picnic inside the bunker. We struggled really hard for 10 days. Even though we were hungry we had to conserve food for the upcoming days due to the uncertainty. We spent 10 days in a bunker without proper food and sleep. Indian Embassy gave advisory to vacate the bunkers immediately. We decided to walk for around 8 km as there was no proper transportation facility."

"I had decided that I wanted to return to India and meet my family under any circumstances. A strong will has brought me back alive today. There was a huge rush at the railway stations. Ukrainians were treating us really bad. They were not allowing us to board the bus, some were even trying to hurt us physically. But somehow we managed to board the train and reached the Hungary border. Indian government safely brought us back from Hungary. Our respect for our nation has increased threefold," Anifred expressed.

Glenwill Fernandes from Kemmannu also reached Mangaluru airport on Wednesday. With this all the students of Udupi origin have been safely evacuated and have reached with their families.