Ukraine is under a war threat and is being bombed by Russian military forces since Thursday morning. And our Mauritian compatriots, established, temporary residents and students, are running for their lives by hiding in metro tunnels with the sole concern of protecting their families and compatriots. The Mauritian Ambassador in Russia tries to be reassuring. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nando Bodha expects a repatriation of our threatened compatriots.
State of emergency introduced
The Ukrainian parliament introduced a state of emergency against Russia following Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday 24 February. The bombings are being heard, the country has already suffered around 50 deaths, people are in panic, supermarkets are almost empty, airports are closed and Mauritians cannot escape elsewhere, not even by train or bus and even less by car. And above all, an emergency plan is not yet considered.
Dr Chandan Jankee tries to be reassuring
The complexity for Mauritians in Ukraine is that they are under the jurisdiction of the Mauritian Embassy in Russia. So, in case of such disasters, it is to the Mauritian Embassy in Russia that they should seek refuge. But this particular situation does not allow it. Dr Chandan Jankee, the Mauritian Ambassador in Russia, tried to be as reassuring as possible and asked Mauritians in Ukraine not to panic and to stay at home until further notice, because from his point of view as a diplomat, this war is likely to be short-lived, but if it continues, rescue will be deployed. Still, it is unthinkable for Mauritians to consider that no harm can come to them. They scramble to gather the basics and run.
Nando Bodha believes that repatriation is the only way to save them
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the situation. The word is out for Mauritians in Ukraine to report their respective emergencies to the services of the Mauritian Embassy in Moscow on the urgent email addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]. Thus, both Mauritian nationals and students are requested to provide their contact details to the Ministry and the Mauritian Embassy in Moscow.
Faced with such a state of emergency, should the decision not rather rhyme with protection or extraction of our compatriots? In any case, Nando Bodha, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, raised his voice to say that the only solution is repatriation. “It is clear that Mauritius will not be able to provide relief to our compatriots under threat. But we must establish a Special Desk in Russia, Ukraine and Mauritius within a minute, in order to collect information on all patriots in Ukraine and especially the exact number, their situations, their families… We must hurry to build ties and ask for help from the United States, France and England, which are the most likely to send repatriation fleets to Ukraine in the shortest possible time. We are in a state of emergency and help will not be refused. But first we need to know the exact number of Mauritians to be repatriated. We witnessed and benefited from such a beautiful human gesture from France in January 2020 when our compatriots were repatriated from Wuhan, the city considered to be the epicentre of the Coronavirus threat at the dawn of the Covid 19. I firmly trust that France will be more inclined to help us in this disastrous situation”. It is all clear, this matter calls the most urgent action!
Stay tuned for more developments.
