Rediff.com reports that a Pakistani bus tour manager in Ukraine has so far assisted in the evacuation of 2,500 Indian residents. Reports indicate that Moazzam Khan, a native of Pakistan, arrived in Ukraine 11 years ago and settled in Ternopil.
After completing his studies in civil engineering in Ukraine, Khan began a bus tour business. At least 2,500 Indians stranded in Ukraine have been assisted by his bus service.
He worked alongside Nitesh Singh, the founder of Team SOS India, on this assignment.
Students from Ternopil were transported by Khan’s bus service to Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Poland, all of which are within a 5- to 3-hour drive.
Khan’s bus service charged $20 or $25 from each Indian student during these difficult times for overseas nationals in Ukraine as other drivers upped their charges to $250. When students were short on cash, the school would refuse to take their payment.
Because of the linguistic barrier in Ukraine, Khan felt an extra sense of empathy for the Ukrainian people.
“Most of the kids from India are fluent in Hindi, therefore I’m able to communicate with them in Urdu. We get along well since Hindi and Urdu are nearly identical languages.” He stated this in an interview.
Indian WhatsApp groups shared Khan’s phone number as he assisted Indians flee Ukraine.
“That was when the rescue calls kept coming in the middle of the night. The best part was receiving blessings from the parents of these Indian youngsters, who would call or send messages of gratitude over WhatsApp, ,”he stated.
Because half his family is still stranded in Sumy, where roughly 700 Indian students are currently awaiting evacuation, Khan was reluctant to leave Ukraine.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ aimen.bukhari@tti.org.pk
