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On February 24, the war in Ukraine became the top issue of all world media. Our heroic resistance is discussed with respect and support. Sumy and Sumy State University are also frequently mentioned by mass media abroad. What they are talking about is in the detailed review prepared by the SumDU Media Center. Today we bring to your attention the first part of the story about our university on the pages of foreign media.
Security of foreign students
After the sudden start of hostilities in Sumy on February 24, about 1,700 foreign students of SumDU stayed in the city. The world media wrote regarding their concern about the situation near the Ukrainian-Russian border even before the war. However, these were notes that the war was not likely to be full-scale.
Before the 24th of February, the comments by Arab students were published on the “AL-FANAR MEDIA” website. The student of the Medical Institute of SumDU said that he considered the aggravation of the situation impossible: "Apart from Luhansk and Donetsk, the two regions for which Russia claims, life is quite normal. People still didn’t prepare any stockpiles of food. Arabs and Ukrainians are not afraid. They would laugh if you asked them about the potential war".
The material in "THE TIMES OF INDIA" has a similar topic. A SumDU student from India told reporters that the situation in the city on February 24 was relatively calm, but for his own safety he planned to leave Ukraine the next day. The university has announced the start of online classes for foreigners who will go home.
After February 24, the situation changed. Indian and Nigerian media began to actively cover the problems of students in Sumy, in particular the fact that it was impossible for them to travel to the west of the country. Thus, Mashable India reports that on February 25, about 400 Indian students stayed in the basements of SumDU dormitories. At that time, some ATMs and supermarkets were closed in the city, and a curfew was imposed. The Indian authorities declared that they would later evacuate their students from Ukraine, in particular, from Sumy.
Foreign students of the Medical Institute told the journalists “ABP Live“ that they were scared because of explosions. After the start of the war, they were placed in the dormitories of SumDU and provided with food, but the situation was still difficult at that time. The students recorded short video appeals about life in the war and asked the government of their country to ensure evacuation from Sumy.
Exclusively for “The Kashmir Monitor”, one of the students said that he had packed up and was ready to leave Sumy at any moment when it might be possible. "Three Air Asia flights have arrived in Ukraine for evacuation. They have already rescued 600 students. But this is not enough. More than 700 Indians still live in Sumy alone. From 35,000 rupees, the cost of a ticket has risen to 65,000 rupees. Now the flights have been canceled". The students also said they feared explosions and shelling of government and office buildings.
Other “NEWS CLICK” media also stressed on the students' concerns about the situation in Sumy. "We were asked to charge our phones and get enough water, as electricity and water supply could be cut off. The embassy asked us not to go to the west, because it was risky, as the movement of trains and buses was stopped", said one of the Kashmiri students of SumDU.
"Indian students who got stuck in Ukraine are concerned about uncertainty": this is the title of the article on “THE HINDU” website. Students told reporters about how they had survived the first days of the war in different locations of Ukraine. A 6th-year student of the Medical Institute said that she had returned to Ukraine only two weeks before to continue her studies, but now she has to worry about her own safety. "University management regularly informs us about the situation. We were also assured of support. If necessary, we will move to the bunkers located on campus", this is how the community of foreign students reacts to the realities of war.
Later, the news about the meeting of the parents of Indian students and government officials was reported on the same site. Officials have assured that diplomacy is working to return all Indian citizens from India who need it.
SumDU students tried to contact the Indian embassy in every possible way so that officials could influence the situation and provide an opportunity to evacuate from the city. The “Hindustan Times” published several comments from Indian students about loud shots, the sounds of military, huge queues near shops, and the impossibility of leaving the city by private or public transport.
“TIMES NOW” wrote about the night in the bomb shelter and the sounds of air raids that frightened Indian students. One of the students posted a video from his smartphone, which showed the residents of the dormitory hurrying down to the basement at night to safely wait for the end of bombardment of the city. Due to the weak Wi-Fi signal, it is difficult for students to communicate with relatives, their only request is to organize an evacuation from Sumy, because the city is located very close to the Russian border.
Nigerian citizen Linda told “ZIKOKO” reporters how she and her friends survived the first days of martial law: "Students are scattered everywhere. There are four of us in my apartment. There are more students in the dormitory, and they even heard gunshots around that night. All of them are now underground in bomb shelters. We have send them a message, but we find out later what happens… We just decided not to go anywhere because we didn't want the war that didn't kill us when we stayed home to kill us on the way to the safe place. One just has to be careful. Russian troops have damaged civilians". It was safest for Nigerian students to stay in their homes, as there were no diplomatic decisions on their evacuation at the time of publication.
"We are physically exhausted, because we receive daily reports about street fights and air raids, so we are forced to constantly run to the shelters. We are also mentally exhausted, because we are afraid that we may suffer if we go to the store and stand in line”, said Nigerian students who stayed in Sumy during the first days of the war. The “INDEPENDENT” news portal has published numerous comments asking for help abroad. Authorities are still working to reach an agreement with the governments of Poland, Hungary and Romania on evacuation buses.
Attention to SumDU students from authoritative world media
On March 3, several journalists from The New York Times contacted students who were "stuck" in Ukraine. According to the media and foreigners themselves, about 800 students of the Medical Institute stayed in Sumy. The explosions near the university cut off lights and water, and forced students to hide in basements on campus. Some embassies have tried to evacuate their fellow citizens, but it was impossible to do so safely. The management of Sumy State University asked students not to go out into the city and if possible not to leave the shelter.
“CNN” journalists collected comments from foreign students of SumDU Medical Institute. All of them talk about the fear and panic that attacked the dormitory residents when they saw the explosions from the windows and the gunshots. For now, the university has asked everyone to stay on campus, where they can quickly get to the bomb shelter. Representatives of the embassies of India and Nigeria explained that they were trying to get permission for humanitarian corridors through negotiations, but no compromise has been reached yet.
The “Guardian” was also interested in the story of foreign students in Sumy. Yes, journalists managed to talk to Nigerian students, who paid an extremely large sum of money, but still managed to travel by private transport to Poltava, and from there to Hungary. Instead, another commentator, an Indian student, reported on the difficult situation in the dormitories and said he was very afraid: “We are safe now, but we have heard that marauding has begun, so I am not sure that the safe situation will last long. We are also concerned that people with weapons are walking around". The Indian authorities have stated that they are trying to establish control over the situation through diplomatic decisions.
In the first week of the war, foreign media talked about foreign students of SumDU quite actively, because young people were scared, did not have access to official information, and panicked, their food supplies were running out. The media tried to draw the attention of their authorities to the problems of students, and therefore were often very emotional, distorting the facts and overloading the general situation. But SumDU is represented in the most favourable light, because the university provided students with access to bomb shelters, provided products, supported each student.