Ukraine-returned students struggling to shake off war trauma

Many showing signs of PTSD; even the slightest sound startles them

Indian students who were stranded in Ukraine are back home and trying to overcome the horror of being caught in a war zone. But it has not been easy. Harrowing memories — of cowering in a bunker every time a bomb exploded or an air raid siren was sounded, struggling with scarcity of food and water, power outages and dealing with the uncertainty of life — are all too fresh for them.

Many of them have been having nightmares, suffering anxiety attacks, or just random bouts of nervousness, all of which point to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some are even emotionally numb and hesitant to talk about their experience.

In their early 20s or even younger, the students lived a chapter in their lives that they wish they didn’t have to. PTSD was part of their medical course, but they had not imagined they would personally experience it.

One of the students, Rasagnya Battu, who used to stay in Kharkiv, recalls how they got scared when the bombs first started raining on the city. “Our windows used to shake violently when the bombs went off. We were scared for our lives. It took me two days to come to terms with what was unfolding around me. After that, fear just vanished. I remember I was chopping onions when a bomb exploded and I did not flinch. We were tired of being scared,” she says.

She, along with a group of students, ran for their lives to a metro station in Kharkiv when sirens were sounded and bombs exploded at a distance.

Kharkiv is where 21-year-old Karnataka student Naveen S. Gyanagoudar was killed while waiting to buy food. The tragic incident left the students shaken, especially those who were still stuck in Ukraine or were in transit.

After returning home to Hyderabad, the students thought the nightmare was finally over. But it wasn’t.