"We are uncertain about what might occur at any moment here in Israel. We have taken refuge in a bunker in a bid to ensure our safety from unexpected incidents. At present, the situation here is highly unpredictable. We may witness black smoke billowing across the sky at any time. The situation is extremely tense," reads a text message from Nischal Pandey, a resident of Tikapur in Kailali, who is currently in Israel.
Pandey, who reached under the 'Earn and Learn Programme' as a student of the Faculty of Agriculture, Far Western University, described how the loud sirens have caused them great distress. "Helicopters and fighter jets are making rounds and rounds above, making the life in the bunker feel nightmarish. We have neither food nor water and we sleep on the cold floor. We feel we live a hellish life. Tonight will be exceptionally long. We hope for a brighter morning after a long wait, " his texts go this way.
Sometime after he sent the message, the news about the deaths of 10 Nepali students in the Israel attack by the terrorist group Hamas made the media headlines. The event has left the students and teachers traumatized. The University has temporarily suspended all the academic activities. The schedule for the internal assessments has been postponed, according to assistant professor Prem Pandey.
Since the incident, the Sudurpaschim (Far West) Province has been in a profound shock.
"We are unfortunate to hear such sad news. At the moment, we are literally speechless. It seems that the incident has severely affected the morale of the students," said Pandey.
University lecturer Saroj Ghimire said with the deaths of the students, the State suffered a valuable human resource loss. "We are not in the position of giving further comments over the aftershock of the incident that we feel at the moment," he said.
Guru Adhikari, another lecturer in the University, said the remaining students in Israel are also at risk and urged the government to make arrangements for immediately providing treatment to those who are injured and for creating an environment for repatriating the rest of the students to Nepal.
"The role of the State is found to be only for formality sake. Our other students are also at risk. They should be timely rescued. The parents of the students are in distress and the whole campus is in grief. I once again urge the State to become responsible," he said.
Sundar Bishwakarma Thapa, who is a second year student of Faculty of Agriculture Science, said a ray of hope has gone with the death of the students of the university.
"I had also thought of going to Israel when students, one batch senior to us, went there for higher learning. My dream of going to Israel has been dashed now after what happened there recently," he expressed his dismay. He demanded that the government make initiatives for the prompt rescue of all students holed up in Israel and who are in distress and bring them to Nepal.
Uttam Pandey, father of Nischal Pandey who reached Israel from the University on September 12, has urged the government to bring all the Nepali students in Israel, including his son, back home.
Stating he is in touch with his son, Uttam quoted his son as saying that the students in Israel are in a vulnerable condition. "My son is saying that the situation outside the place they are staying is very insecure. They have been protecting their lives by staying in a bunker," Pandey said.
According to Nischal Pandey, all the students want to return home to Nepal. The Pandey senior also said the parents of the students who are in Israel wanted to see their children coming back home. The government should create an environment for their return to Nepal, they demanded.
Out of the 49 last semester students studying Bachelor of Agriculture Science at the University, 15 left for Israel on September 12 and 35 others on September 13. Among them, 10 are female students.
They had gone to Israel for 10 months under the 'Learn and Earn' programme. It was said that they would have their class one day a week, work for five days and stay on leave for one day. They were the first batch students to go to Israel under this programme.
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