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"I speak to my parents every day. They have now come to Kabul from Kunduz because it is safer there and my sister is there. But I don't know when I will see them next. Every day I pray that I can see them. I pray that I can bring them to India. They have never left Afghanistan – but there is no love left there because the Taliban have made it a country of despair," said Nadir Raza on a call.
Raza, 22, is an Afghan student currently pursuing engineering at an Anna University-affiliated college in Chennai. He is one of the many students who have been anxious since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on 15 August.
As thousands scramble to flee Afghanistan, these students in India are worried for the safety of their families back home.
"This is the real life that we are facing right now. We are trying to deal, there is no way that we should not deal with this situation," said Shukriya Rezayi, a student at Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Some of these students who had planned to return to their countries have had to stay back. Abdul Saboor from Kabul is a medical student at Delhi's Sharda University who had planned to go back this August, but with the latest turn of events in Afghanistan, his family is advising him not to return anytime soon.
"I can only hope that the situation improves some day," he said.
Seeking Support of Indian Government
Afghan students from different universities in India are now appealing to the Indian government to step in and offer support.
"I want to tell the Indian government that there are a lot of Afghan students in India in different universities across states. I want the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan to resume its operations, so that our studies... for all students, someone who's in the final year, someone in the second year... their future should be secure. So, I want the Indian Embassy to resume their work so that the visa process can be expedited. Plus, if they can resume the flights, it would be good for us," said Saboor.
Habiba Hussaini, a recent MBA graduate from Symbiosis International University in Pune says the Indian government should help these Afghan students find a job as they are in no position to return to their country to help their families.
Urging people to raise their voice against the Taliban's atrocities against women, she said, "This is my message to not only Indian women but all the world that please raise your voice for our women, and for peace in Afghanistan."
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