Avneet Kaur
Nawanshahr, March 3
Five members of a Nawanshahr family, including a newborn baby, are among thousands of people who made a desperate bid to flee Ukraine after tensions between the two countries escalated.
Speaking to The Tribune, Dharam Paul, father of Swatanter, who runs his immigration company in Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, shared a harrowing experience of his family, who had to go through several hardships to reach Poland.
“On February 24, when Russia launched its first attack on Kyiv, my daughter-in-law was being taken to hospital for delivery. It was a tough time as tensions were brewing and my whole family — my wife, son, his wife, his sister-in-law and the newborn baby girl — were stuck there,” said Dharam Paul, adding that the family was not in a position to leave the country as the newborn baby and his daughter-in-law were under observation at the hospital.
“Seeing no improvement in the situation, I asked my son to seek permission from doctors and leave the country at the earliest possible,” said Paul. He said on February 27, the family left Kyiv on their own risk and started their journey with then three-day-old daughter towards the Poland border.
He said during that time, every member of his family was reciting prayers and that he himself used to be in a gurdwara for the whole day reciting Sukhmani Sahib paath, and praying for their safety. “Even though my family faced a lot of problems on the way from Kyiv to the Poland border, the newborn baby proved to be a blessing in disguise as seeing her Ukrainian army personnel gave them a free passage to the family and was not stopped at any checkpoints.
He further said his son had carried along all the essentials and baby products and other items as prescribed by the doctors. Besides, as they were on their own car, they were able to keep the baby safe from freezing temperature but driving amid sounds of bombings and taking care of the baby in between was a tough task, he added.
He said as it was an 800-km-long journey, they were travelling with the help of Google map. Still they were lost in between and ended up reaching an isolated place. “They then kept on travelling to reach a safer place and their journey was extended by another 200 km and then after seeking help from some local residents, they finally made it to the Poland border on March 1,” he added.
“When they reached the Poland border, there was a 50-km-long queue and it was not easy for them to stand in the queue with then five-day-old baby and his ailing wife, so they sought help from border guards, who first asked them to wait and then nearly after 20-22 hours, allowed them to cross over,” said Dharam Paul.
Still stuck in Poland
Dharam Paul said as the family has no birth certificate and other documents required to apply for a newborn’s passport, the family is still in Poland and trying to reach out to officials in case of any alternative available.
Indian Embassy not responding
“Ever since the family left Kyiv, my son was trying to contact Indian Embassy officials, he even sent them messages and mails informing them that they were carrying a newborn baby with them, but none from the embassy responded,” said Dharam Pal, adding that his son now with the help of Polish officials trying to figure out the way through which they can return.
Poland local turns messiah for family
After crossing the border, the family stopped at a restaurant for lunch in Poland. However, seeing the newborn with the family, the restaurant owner, who was a Polish man, took the family to a nearby hospital for the baby’s and her mother’s check-up. “He even took them to their residence, provided them rooms to take rest and get fresh. He offered every possible help and arranged a hotel for them to stay until the official formalities are completed,” said Dharam Paul.
Nawanshahr couple flee war-torn Ukraine with two-day-old baby girl
{$excerpt:n}
