With men fighting in Ukraine, 63-year-old Nepalese father stays behind for his son
Ukrainians flee
As thousands of Ukrainians are pouring into the neighbouring countries as Russian attacks grows stronger, a 63-year-old Nepalese man has chosen to stay behind with his son to fight as all Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have been told to help the armed forces.
Jayant Kumar Nepal (63) left Nepal, his home country, and shifted to Ukraine in 1979 to do business. For 40 years, he has been living there with his wife and son, following which they have acquired Ukrainian citizenship.
Speaking to WION, Kumar said that he cannot leave his 36-year-old son behind alone to fight.
“In Ukraine, children are asked to join the army immediately after they are done with schooling. I live here with my son and wife. As Ukrainian men have been told to stay back to fight the Russians, I cannot leave my son behind. We are from Nepal but since 1979 we have been living in Ukraine,” Nepal told WION.
Jayant Kumar Nepal is currently living in Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine.
Russian forces have made progress in southern Ukraine since their February 24 invasion, overrunning the city of Kherson and besieging the port of Mariupol, but Odessa has so far been largely spared.
“Odessa is important for Russians and so they tried to reach the port city through ships but were knocked off by Ukrainian forces. So far, we are safe here and the situation is normal, but we are scared,” Nepal told WION.
“Even if we want, we cannot leave the country. They're not letting men leave,” he added.
Jayant Nepal has been coordinating with the Nepal Embassy in Berlin to help the Nepali nationals in war-tone Ukraine. He said that while almost “75 per cent of senior citizens have left Ukraine" he chooses to stay behind for his family.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier said Russian forces were preparing to bombard the city of Odessa.
"Rockets against Odessa? This will be a war crime,” Zelenskyy had said in a televised address.
As per the last update, over 500 Nepalese have left Ukraine and have sought shelter in neighbouring countries, mostly in Poland. However, many are still waiting to be rescued.
At the moment, the Nepal officials do not have the exact numbers of Nepali nationals currently living in Ukraine.
