Russia is incessantly attacking on Ukraine since a few days, especially the major cities and now nuclear sites. As a result, many have been forced to flee the country and leave their homes, work places, and institutions.
People out there have starved since days and gone underground to save themselves from the airstrikes.
Several nations’ governments are making arrangements to evacuate their citizens. Even the residents are doing their part besides saving themselves and that’s huge in such a chaotic situation.
Saathiya’s evacuee shelter
In a similar instance, an Indian restaurant in Kyiv, Ukraine, has been functioning as a makeshift shelter for the war victims, and evacuees.
Named ‘Saathiya‘, the restaurant in Ukraine’s capital volunteered to offer its basement to the country’s vulnerable population.
Snaps of the restaurant were spotted across social media.
A man called Manish Dave has turned his restaurant into a shelter for over 125 vulnerable people in Ukraine. He & his staff cook food & risk their lives in search of ration for them all. The world needs more people like Manish Dave. pic.twitter.com/ZnQlViwDoZ
— GOOD (@good) February 27, 2022
As per reports, Manish Dave, a man originally from Vadodara, Gujarat owns the restaurant. He migrated to Ukraine in October 2021 to open a restaurant for Indian students living in the country. Unfortunately, before the restaurant could actually do some good business and make his place, it faced the pandemic and now the war. Yet he had the noble heart of offering his restaurant basement to people who needed a safe place to stay and food to eat.
“We will try our best to arrange free food and stay according to our capacity. Stand united with Ukraine,” he wrote in a message on Telegram inviting people of all nationalities.
By now they have over 130 people in their premises. Moreover, the restaurant serves Indian food such as Dal and Chawal for the residents. Also, they are trying to keep the spice level less in order to accommodate the taste preferences of multiple countries. When people learnt about the good work, the restaurant owner has received contributions of food, rice and vegetables from people to keep the shelter going.
Maharaja Restaurant’s Langar
There’s another eatery doing the same. Namely Maharaja, the oldest Indian restaurant in Budapest, has been serving free meals to Indian students who are being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine via the Hungarian capital.
One Kulvinder Singh Jham , the restaurant owner deems his gesture as the sign of being a devout Sikh. And so, he immediately opened a langar to serve the free food.
Jham, who has lived in Europe for 40 years and set up Maharaja in 1994, shared with the media that the students were expecting help from the Indian Embassy and received food as well but he thought of arranging cooked meals which he did. He is in talks with the embassy and ministers and officers and continuing the langar.
Less than 3000 Indians remain in Ukraine as of today. Over 18000+ Indians have left/rescued from Ukraine territory to safety since the beginning of war. Indian Government working on the evacuation of remaking Indians on war-footing. Most Indians to be out of Ukraine in 48 hours.
All this is taking a big toll not only on Ukraine but the entire world at large. We hope that things get resolves as soon as possible.