Highlights
- Sudip Gurung and Nabin Chaudhary have travelled to the Polish border, largely on foot, but are being prevented from leaving Ukraine.
- According to the Non-Resident Nepali Association, 302 Nepalis from Ukraine have reached safety in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.
- Jaya Shiwakoti in Slovakia is hosting incoming Nepalis at his restaurant in Bratislava.
Sudip Gurung says he has so far survived Russia's military offensive in Ukraine and a three-day journey on foot and by taxi to the country's border with Poland, but he now faces his biggest obstacle.
He tells SBS Nepali he has been the subject of “bullying” and “threats” from people preventing him from getting to the border crossing point, which is just a few hundred metres away.
"I have been stuck here at the border for almost a week without food or water. My friend and I need to be rescued, but hardly anyone can enter because it is a war zone. We are in great danger," says Mr Gurung.
Although more than 300 Nepalis have made it out of Ukraine into the neighbouring countries of Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Moldova, many remain stuck in the country.
Mr Gurung and his friend Nabin Chaudhary are among them.
Nepalis fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Source: NRNA
Mr Gurung was in his room at a hostel when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
"We even heard a few blasts from our room. A group of friends gathered and discussed what to do. Some of us wanted to wait and see if things became more critical," he recounts.
"But I wanted to move. About eight or nine of us left Kyiv in an hour or so."
While some of their friends had transportation and reached the border earlier, Mr Gurung and Mr Chaudhary walked for 25 to 30 kilometres on the first day.
Within two days, they reached Lviv, having alternated between walking, short taxi rides and taking the metro.
Along the way, they encountered attacks on all sides, closed shops and a shortage of food and water.
From Lviv, it took them another full day to reach the border crossing point.
"When we reached here, we tried to cross the border. However, a group of people surrounded us and started threatening us. ‘Remember my face, and you will get a surprise tonight,’ one of them said to me.
“Every time I try to get near the crossing point, people surround me, a few in front, a few behind, a few on the left and right. Some push us, some threaten us and some manhandle us," Mr Gurung says.
The trials that we faced on the road are nothing compared to this. Here we feel like we are courting death every moment.
Mr Gurung says he has been living on the street, waiting hours for a simple meal and struggling to find water to drink.
He says he is at his wit's end, because he has notified the Nepal government about his predicament, and yet no one has come to his rescue.
"Many people who came here before and after us have already crossed the border and entered Poland. But this group will not let us leave, nor will it let us go back into Ukraine towards another border crossing point," says an exasperated Mr Gurung.
Nepalis on the move
Nepalis fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Source: NRNA
According to the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), by February 1, 302 Nepalis from Ukraine had reached safe destinations: 232 in Poland, 39 in Slovakia, four in Hungary, 23 in Romania and four in Moldova.
"Neighbouring countries like Hungary, Romania and Poland have opened their borders, so many Nepalis have left,” says Hari Bahadur Malla, president of NRNA Ukraine, speaking from his car while stuck in a highway traffic jam.
Travelling from his residence in Odessa to the outskirts, Mr Malla says he has been stuck in the same place for four hours.
“Most of the students have even headed back to Nepal. Some of them were not here as students, they were here on transit to Western European countries. Many of them come to Ukraine through their agents who enrol them into schools for a semester or so. Even those youngsters have left Ukraine, with the help of NRNA," he adds.
On the move: Nepalis in a bus taking them to a nearest border in Western Ukraine. Source: NRNA
The police have converted three and four-lane highways into one lane roads because of the increase in traffic. Thirty per cent of the population have already left.
Mr Malla, who has lived in Ukraine for 39 years, says he is among forty Nepali families who are permanent residents of the country.
"None of us have left. We have businesses here. If we leave, they may be looted, or something may happen. So we are staying here despite the fear," he says.
A community united
Online meeting of Nepali community leaders of Ukraine and adjoining countries. Source: NRNA
Jaya Shiwakoti in Slovakia is one of them, hosting incoming Nepalis at his restaurant in Bratislava.
"When the attack on Ukraine began, I began getting phone calls from Nepal, from families of Nepalis in Ukraine," says Mr Shiwakoti.
At first I panicked at the enormity of the task ahead, not knowing what to do.
"Then I got in touch with Ramkaji Khadka, Nepal's ambassador to Germany. He asked me to connect NRNA members in neighbouring countries and prepare to rescue Nepalis."
Nepal does not have an embassy in Ukraine, and the Nepali Embassy in Germany looks after the affairs of neighbouring countries including Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Moldova.
Mr Shiwakoti then created a Whatsapp group that included the Nepali ambassador, representatives from all those countries and the NRNA vice president.
"From that moment, we resolved to face what may come, and we each forgot about our day jobs to focus on rescuing Nepalis in Ukraine," he says.
Soon, Nepalis arriving in Slovakia began calling him up, since his number was shared by the embassy in its press release and was accessible from previous social work too.
Mr Shiwakoti helped the incomers by calling them and guiding them along the way so that they didn’t feel alone.
Jaya Shiwakoti in Slovakia is hosting incoming Nepalis at his Nepali restaurant in Bratislava. Source: Supplied
"The first three people who arrived were so scared, one of them even refused to leave the Red Cross facilities after he entered them," he recalls, explaining they were rescued by an NRNA member in Hungary and sent on their way.
The next group to arrive in Slovakia came directly to his restaurant after Googling the word "Nepali," which was when Mr Shiwakoti had the idea of turning his restaurant into a rescue centre.
"There are very few Nepalis in Slovakia. It's just my family and a couple of other people. But my restaurant is easy to find on a map, so I wouldn’t even have to give directions."
People slowly started trickling in, and Mr Shiwakoti removed all the furniture from the restaurant to make room for them.
"When people arrive, we first take them to the restaurant where they freshen up and rest for a night. Then the next day, we take them to our well-managed apartments where they get to sleep in single beds, rest well, think and decide their next destination for themselves," Mr Shiwakoti says.
Jay Shiwakoti's restaurant before it became a rescue centre. Source: Supplied
Currently, there are 28 people in these facilities, and Mr Shiwakoti is unwilling to divulge the total number of people he has helped in this way due to safety fears.
"My intention is to let people know that they are welcome in Slovakia. Right now the Poland border is jammed up because of the large number of people waiting to cross. If you are waiting there or wondering where to go, you are welcome to Slovakia, where you will be totally safe.
“One cup of Ilam tea will freshen up your mind so well that you will be able to clearly think about your next steps."
While the NRNA had originally estimated there to be about 500 Nepalis in Ukraine, Mr Shiwakoti says that according to those who have left the country, there are another 500 still in the country.
Nepalis fleeing Ukraine cherish the moment of peace at a bus stop. Source: NRNA
