On Tuesday, several hundred African students stranded in northeastern Ukraine were able to be evacuated. A humanitarian corridor has been opened between Sumy and the city of Poltava, further south. These young people had been stuck in the university for several days in difficult conditions as fighting raged in the area. Among them, twelve Congolese.
From the start of the war hundreds of students took shelter in the University of Sumy. The twelve Congolese spent more than a week there in agony. Ruth Shimbi, 27, in her final year of medical school.
” It was traumatic, I shook on my bed because I heard the bombings, don con was forced to go down and hide in the basement. We didn’t know where they were shooting. Maybe it could affect us. »
A humanitarian corridor finally opened on Tuesday morning. Money sent by Kinshasa enabled the 12 Congolese to pay for a taxi and then to reach Poltava station, further south. Finally serene, Ruth Shimbi and her compatriots were able to wait for a train heading for the Polish border.
” I feel so safe, relieved. Because it wasn’t easy, not at all. I can not believe it. I don’t know if I should smile, if I should shout. But it’s just that I’m a little traumatized. It comes back to me, it comes back to me. I can’t count correctly… »
The 12 students are now wondering about their future after several years of sacrifice away from their families. ” Our studies are at stake, we can’t waste years like this, emphasizes Ruth Shimbi. I’m in my last year, I wonder how it will go. »
The Congolese government has sent a mission along the Ukrainian border to rescue nationals fleeing the violence.
Two or three days after the start of the conflict, I left for Poland to drop off my family and I came back. Congolese students in Ukraine, some are there on my recommendations, so I feel responsible. So I can’t leave Ukraine while Congolese students have stayed. Their safety is my concern.
Serge Nyangi Mamputu, a Congolese entrepreneur based in Ukraine, helped evacuate his compatriots