'We heard blasts': Indian student recalls horror and fear after evacuation from Iran

As the Israel-Iran conflict escalates, Indian students pursuing courses in Iran were evacuated and brought back home. Given the quality of education and affordable costs of medical education, students from India are drawn to medical universities in Iran. However, as the conflict intensified, the students had to leave their studies temporarily and return.

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Syeda Shereen, a first year medical student, shared her experience of being evacuated from Iran in the midst of the chaos and the challenges that lie ahead due to uncertainty of the current geopolitical situation.

‘We heard blasts’

Shereen, who is a resident of Kashmir, was a first year student at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran.

"I am still trying to process the chaos we faced in Iran. Around six days ago, we heard blasts in the middle of the night and I thought it was some firecrackers from some celebrations outside,” she told The Federal.

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She was shocked to learn that it was an attack on Iran after students received phone calls confirming the same and telling them to grab essentials.

"We were asked to pack important documents such as passport and University documents in a bag and be prepared for any unforeseen situation. The noise and the smoke seemed to be right next to us and it was horrific to continue staying there. We were panicked, and were told that the water and supply of basic food and groceries might be disrupted. We stocked the necessities and were asked to stay indoors," she said.

14-hour journey

As the tensions escalated, Shereen, along with other students from different parts of India including Kashmir, Hyderabad, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and others were taken to Qom, as it was a comparatively safer area.

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"The next day, our university informed us that we would be relocated, and the Indian Embassy was supporting the evacuation. We were taken to Qom, and I saw smoke coming out from distant places as we travelled in a bus. The Embassy arranged for us to stay in hotels, but we knew we had to move from there too as it was not safe there as well," added Shereen.

The students were moved to Mashhad the next day and the students took 14 hours journey to Mashad, even as the attacks continued. "We reached Mashhad, only to realise it wasn't safe either and our families were worried. There were attacks everywhere and no place was safe for us to stay. We could not talk to our families and in that scenario, Dr. Mohammad Momin Khan, vice president of All India Medical Students' Association, Jammu & Kashmir, coordinated between us, Indian Embassy and our parents. We witnessed attacks in front of our eyes, and the fear was overwhelming so we wanted to come back home."

Uncertain future

The students were then evacuated from Iran and they landed in Delhi on Saturday (June 21). "We are now safe in Delhi but we don't know what lies ahead and there are no clear instructions from the university. We are not sure if when can we continue our studies. It's a difficult time, and we're trying to stay hopeful," said Shereen.

While many other students like Shereen are now back home and express gratitude to the Indian Embassy and other authorities for facilitating their evacuation, their primary concern now revolves around the fate of their medical education.

"We are unable to connect with the universities on what is the further course of action. At the same time, we are worried that if the situation escalates, we might not be able to continue the studies in India as the medical students who returned to India during Ukraine-Russia war did not get any support to continue their medical education in India itself," she signed off.