'Save My Son': Woman Who Rode 1,400 Km for Son Pleads for His Safety in Ukraine

Razia Begum said that she was in touch with her son who was stranded in Sumy in the eastern part of Ukraine.

Razia Begum set out on a solo journey to bring her son home in April 2020.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Razia Begum, a 50-year-old government teacher from Bodhan in Telangana’s Nizamabad, who rode over 1,400 kilometres on a scooter to bring her son back home from Nellore in April 2020 is distressed yet again as 21-year-old medical student Nizamuddin Aman remains stranded in Sumy, Ukraine.

In a pleading letter titled 'save my son and bring back to mother India' addressed to the district collector, Razia Begum stated that even though her husband died of kidney failure 14 years ago, "seeing his helpless condition, my son decided to render his medical services to people suffering from chronic conditions by joining the medical profession".

Begum previously made headlines when she travelled solo from her hometown to her son’s college in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, after he was stranded during the first nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19. Local police permission in hand, Begum covered the distance in three days.

With conflict reaching new heights in parts of eastern Ukraine, Begum is now concerned for Aman’s safety, who is in the European nation as a first-year medical student at the Sumy State Medical University.

Aman has been constantly in touch with Begum, updating her about the situation in Sumy over phone calls and text messages.

"The situation there is worse now, as there is no electricity or water due to bombing, the food that was left with them is also getting over, " Begum told The Quint.

Begum told The Times of India that as per her last conversation with her son, there was no concrete information about the evacuation of Indian students from Sumy.

The 21-year-old is among around 500 other Indian students sheltering from the war in hostels and bunkers in Sumy, which has been badly affected. The Hindu reported that according to the students, roadways were hit and the nearest metro station had also been blown up.

The concerned mother has written to the District Collector, Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, Home Minister Mahommed Mahmood Ali, senior state officials, and well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging them to take the necessary steps to ensure the safe return of Indian students amid the war in Ukraine.

(With inputs from The Hindu and The Times of India.)