Afghan students protest against Taliban in Vizag, worried about their future

Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the students from Afghanistan, studying in Andhra University, are having sleepless nights thinking about their families stuck in their country. They are able to speak to their parents every day and enquire about their well-being. Yet, they are in a helpless situation. The Andhra University students had taken to the streets of Vizag, to protest against the Taliban rule in Afghanistan and to ask the Andhra Pradesh State Government to intervene and help the Afghan students. 

The appalling situation in Afghanistan has led to many Afghan citizens expressing their concerns about this. With many students stuck in Vizag, Yo! Vizag reached out to Reza Mohammedi, an Afghan student who is pursuing MSc Physics in Andhra University. 

Reza is in a helpless situation and shares, “My families are safe for now. It is just that they have to stay home, shut the doors and do nothing against the Taliban. Since there are no flights to go and help them or bring them back, we are trying our ways to at least move to another country”. 

With about more than 100 Afghan students pursuing BBA, BCom, and BTech courses, the Andhra University student’s protest has turned into a point of concern in Vizag. A majority of them currently do not receive any financial help from their families and are depending on their scholarships. Now that they have no plans to go back to Afghanistan, the students requested the Indian government to support them financially. 

Reza, who is in a similar position adds “We have so far survived with scholarships every month but we will be completing our course in a few months. For many of us, the Andhra University authorities have promised to extend our education hereby giving us the opportunity to study Ph.D. and other certificate courses. But there has been no confirmation about the extension. We hope to get that opportunity and a scholarship”.

To add to everything that has been going wrong already, the students have additional responsibilities to take care of their parents too. any of their parents have become jobless and the girls in their family are not allowed to school. An Afghan woman, currently studying in AU,  talks about the female issues in the country. She says, “It has been a month of Taliban rule over the country and our families are having sleepless nights. Anyone knocking on the door gives them the fear of what might happen next. We have no idea what the future is and our families are urging us to stay in India, rather than returning back and suffering in Afghanistan.”