Unending Quarantine In Jaisalmer For Kashmiri Students Evacuated From Iran

As India continues to fight the coronavirus, Kashmiri students, who were evacuated from Iran, have completed their third week in quarantine in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Although the government has warranted a 14-day quarantine period for anyone returning from abroad, Kashmiri students have been lodged at the quarantine facility for more than 21 days, with no sign of them being allowed to return home.  

“I think one day we will catch the coronavirus in this unending quarantine. We will either end up in a hospital or in a graveyard. We have lost all hope of seeing home again,” said Haseeb Bazaz, a third year student at the Tehran Medical University. 

Bazaz says he, along with over 200 students, had to undergo quarantine and a Covid-19 test in Iran before they were allowed to board a plane to New Delhi on March 14. “We readily agreed for quarantine and tests in Iran as we wanted to return home. The university was closed down and everyone left for their home,” he said. After they tested negative for coronavirus in Iran, they were allowed to leave for India in a special plane.

Upon reaching Delhi, they were informed that they had to undergo another 14-day quarantine in Jaisalmer, after which they will be allowed to leave for Kashmir. But by the time they had completed _their quarantine in Jaisalmer, the whole country was placed under lockdown and they had to stay back. “With the lockdown, another quarantine began for us. Now we have completed the third quarantine period today and we don’t know what to do,” Bazaz said. He added that some days ago they were told by concerned officials at Jaisalmer that they were keen to send them back but J&K government is not interested in facilitating their return. “Many of the students are now in depression,” Bazaz added.   

At least 276 Kashmiri students were evacuated from Iran in the wake of the of Covid-19 outbreak. Most of these students were pursuing MBBS in Iran, one of the worst hit countries of Covid-19.

On March 9, Minister for External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, came to Srinagar and met parents of those children who were stuck in Iran. During the meeting, Jaishankar assured these parents that their children would soon be evacuated from Iran. Following which, the students were brought back to India. “Now, all we want is to return home,” Bazaz said, adding, “Every day we are told that we will be sent home. And every day we end up disappointed.”