“Zhu, please keep in touch!” Safe Evacuation of a Chongqing Student from Ukraine“朱同學，請保持聯系！”重慶籍留學生安全撤離烏克蘭

賀煜 龍曉

“Hello！ I am now studying in Ukraine. I haven’t received any evacuation notices yet. I don’t have a car. Trains are not available now. What should I do？”

“Notice on Taking Chartered Trains to Evacuate from Ukraine to Neighboring Countries in the West for Chinese Nationals https：//mp.weixin.qq.com/s/pwWkSo6trBvBSXSYP_DMwg. Make sure you can be reached by phone. Hope you are safe and sound.”

On the afternoon of March 1st， Zhu， a student from Chongqing studying at the National University of Kyiv in Ukraine， sent a message to Chongqing Foreign Affairs WeChat account to seek help. After knowing about his urgent need， the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government attached great importance to it. Our staff got in touch with Zhu as soon as possible and provided him with information for his safe evacuation such as the Notice on Taking Chartered Trains to Evacuate from Ukraine to Neighboring Countries in the West for Chinese Nationals. Keeping close communication with Zhu， we added him as friend on WeChat to follow up on his evacuation， safety， and how he coped with the stressful situation. By doing so， Chongqing was doing our fair share in the country’s overall efforts to evacuate the Chinese nationals from Ukraine. As of March 22nd， nearly 100 WeChat messages were exchanged with Zhu.

On the early morning of March 2nd， Zhu left us a message， “I am already on the bus arranged by the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine.” At around 6 a.m.， we replied， “Great！ Wish you a safe journey back to the motherland.” We learned from Zhu that he was on the bus arranged by the Chinese Embassy to Romania via Moldova. He flew back to China on a chartered flight from Bucharest Otopeni Airport and was in medical quarantine in Jinan， Shandong Province.

Nearly half a month after the evacuation， Zhu still vividly remembered what he had experienced during the evacuation from Ukraine. Although there were difficulties， he was warmed and touched by the help extended to him. Zhu was grateful for the motherland， the Chinese Embassy， and each one who had assisted him.

Zhu recalled that on the early morning of February 24th in Kyiv， he was awakened by a huge explosion. He didn’t know what happened at the time， and it was not until late morning that he learned of the conflict from the news. His classmates and friends called the Chinese Embassy for help immediately. They were told to be calm， stay at home， or go to the air-raid shelter. The Chinese Embassy was making arrangements for the evacuation of Chinese nationals.

“At that time， some with vehicles drove out of Ukraine. Some evacuated to surrounding countries by train. While we were waiting for the arrangements of the Chinese Embassy.” According to Zhu， on February 27th， he received the notice from the Chinese Embassy to sign up and prepare to evacuate. On March 1st， Zhu safely evacuated to Romania via Moldova by bus arranged by the Chinese Embassy.

Zhu said that they took the bus at the border prepared by the Chinese Embassy in Moldova. Chinese chambers of commerce and local Chinese people helped the Chinese Embassy in Romania to receive those who evacuated from Ukraine and provided free food and accommodation. What impressed him was that he found a Chongqing restaurant in Romania. The owner was from Chongqing. Zhu， who hadn’t had warm food for a long time， was happy and satisfied after eating the familiar dishes of his hometown.

On March 9th， Zhu left Romania by a chartered flight and arrived in Jinan， Shandong Province on March 10th. With excitement， Zhu said that “The moment when the plane landed， I was really happy！ Very happy！ All of a sudden， the pressure was gone， and I felt truly safe！” Then， he went through the quarantine at the designated hotel.

When it came to asking for help from the Foreign Affairs Office of his hometown， Zhu said that he started to follow Chongqing Foreign Affairs WeChat official account very early. When the Chinese Embassy was not in immediate reach， the first thing that came to his mind was to seek help from the government authority of his hometown. “I just gave it a shot by sending a message to Chongqing Foreign Affairs WeChat official account. I never expected to get an immediate response and important information.” Zhu said that the staff of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government had kept a close contact with him and let him feel assured. This was the responsibility of Chongqing Foreign Affairs Office and its care to the people.

“I’m all excited about going back to my hometown Chongqing soon.” Immediately after his quarantine， Zhu wanted to have Chongqing hotpot - spicy and delicious food of hometown that he hadn’t had for so long.

Another one with similar experience as Zhu was Zhou， a student from Chongqing who was also studying at the National University of Kyiv. He evacuated from Kyiv before Zhu. On the evening of February 28th in Kyiv， Zhou received a notice of evacuation from the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine. On the morning of March 1st， he evacuated from Kyiv by bus， went to Romania via Moldova， and returned to China by a chartered flight on March 5th. After medical quarantine in Lanzhou， he came back to Chongqing on March 20th.

It was all about warmth and touching moments that Zhou had experienced when evacuating from Ukraine. He also shared with us heart-warming moments when he took the chartered flight. The check-in time was delayed， waiting for those who hadn’t arrived yet. The airlines staff kept comforting everyone， “Please don’t worry. We will wait until every Chinese national has boarded the plane before taking off. Everyone will return home safely.” These words had struck the heartstrings of Zhou. On the plane， there were national flags and words that read “Welcome Home”. Zhou was moved to tears and spoke out his mind， “I will never regret being a Chinese！”

“After this， I have known how precious life is.” Zhou said that he would spend more time with his family and contribute his bit to the motherland after his graduation.

On the afternoon of March 9th， Kyiv Time， with the last batch of Chinese students from Sumy arriving at the railway station of Lviv， a Ukrainian city in the west， the Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine H.E. Fan Xianrong announced that the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Ukraine had been successfully completed.

“你好！我是一名在烏的學生，我現在還沒有接到撤離的通知，我也沒有車，現在火車上不去，我該咋辦呀？”

“《關于在烏中國公民可以乘烏專列撤往西部鄰國的通知》https：//mp.weixin.qq.com/s/pwWkSo6trBvBSXSYP_DMwg，保持通訊暢通，希望你一切平安。”

這是3月1日下午，在烏克蘭基輔大學就讀的重慶籍留學生朱同學向重慶外事微信公眾號后臺發送的求助信息。獲悉情況后，重慶市政府外辦高度重視，第一時間安排公眾號工作人員與其取得聯系，及時分享了中國駐烏克蘭大使館《關于在烏中國公民可以乘烏專列撤往西部鄰國的通知》，為其安全撤離提供信息。為積極配合國家從烏克蘭撤離中國公民的行動，實時了解朱同學的撤離情況，工作人員還主動添加朱同學的微信，與其保持緊密聯系，時刻關注他的安危和情緒，隨時準備為他提供幫助。截至3月22日，工作人員共與朱同學溝通交流微信信息近百條。

3月2日凌晨，朱同學留言：他已經在中國駐烏克蘭大使館安排的大巴車上。早上6時許，公眾號工作人員回復：“太好啦！祝你一路平安，早日回到祖國懷抱。”通過這樣的密切聯系，獲悉朱同學乘坐大使館安排的大巴車經摩爾多瓦撤往羅馬尼亞，3月9日在布加勒斯特奧托佩尼機場搭乘撤離中國公民的包機回國，后在山東濟南隔離。

回顧撤離經歷，朱同學表示，雖然已過去近半個月時間，但撤離烏克蘭的畫面歷歷在目，撤離過程雖然曲折艱辛，卻因來自各方的幫助而備感溫暖、備受感動，一直對祖國、對大使館、對關心他的每一個人心懷感激。

朱同學回憶，當地時間2月24日凌晨，他被巨大的爆炸聲驚醒，當時并不知道發生了什么事，直到早上才從新聞中得知沖突爆發。身邊的同學、朋友都在第一時間給大使館打電話求助，大使館工作人員叮囑大家要冷靜，待在家里或者去防空洞，并表示正在積極協調撤離中國公民。

“當時，一些有車的中國同胞開始自主撤離，一些人選擇搭乘火車撤往周邊鄰國，我們則在等待大使館的通知。”朱同學說，2月27日，大使館通知大家開始登記準備撤離。3月1日，朱同學順利乘坐大使館安排的大巴車經摩爾多瓦撤往羅馬尼亞。

朱同學介紹，中國駐摩爾多瓦大使館安排了大巴車在邊境接應撤離人員，抵達羅馬尼亞后，各地的華商會、華人華僑積極協助中國駐羅馬尼亞大使館安置撤離人員，免費提供食宿，幫助解決生活問題。尤其讓他印象深刻的是在羅馬尼亞找到了一家“重慶飯店”，店主是重慶人。長時間沒有吃上熱菜熱飯的他在那里吃到了熟悉的家鄉味道，這讓他非常開心和滿足。

3月9日，朱同學搭乘包機離開羅馬尼亞，10日抵達山東濟南。“飛機落地的那一刻，真的非常開心！非常開心！壓力一下子就沒了，感覺到真正的安全了！”朱同學激動地說。隨即他順利入住隔離點進行隔離。

談及向家鄉的外事部門求助一事，朱同學表示，自己很早就開始關注重慶外事微信公眾號，當自己聯系不上大使館的時候，就第一時間想到尋求家鄉政府部門的幫助。“我抱著試一試的想法給重慶外事微信公眾號發消息，沒想到立即就得到了回應，給我提供了重要信息。”朱同學說，重慶市政府外辦的工作人員一直與他高頻聯系，給予了他極大的精神安慰，讓他在動蕩不安的異國他鄉，體會到了家鄉外事部門外事為民的擔當和情懷。

“馬上就要回到家鄉重慶了，心情格外激動。”朱同學說，隔離結束后想第一時間去吃重慶火鍋，在麻辣鮮香的紅湯中體會久違的家鄉味。

和朱同學有相同經歷的還有同在基輔大學求學的重慶籍留學生周同學，他先于朱同學從基輔撤離。當地時間2月28日晚，周同學接到我駐烏大使館的通知，3月1日上午乘坐大巴車撤離基輔，經摩爾多瓦轉至羅馬尼亞，3月5日搭乘包機回國，在蘭州集中隔離后已于3月20日返回重慶。

談及此次撤離，周同學也表示體會到更多的是溫暖和感動。他還分享了搭乘包機的感動瞬間。由于搭乘包機回國人員較多，值機時間有所延誤。當時，航空公司工作人員不斷安慰大家：“請不要擔心，我們會等到現場的每一位同胞全部登機再起飛，保障大家安全回國。”周同學說，聽到這樣的話語令他格外感動。走上飛機，機艙內插滿了國旗，寫著“歡迎回家”的小貼紙映入眼簾，他不禁淚目，感嘆“此生不悔入華夏！”

“經歷了此次事件，讓我更加懂得生命的可貴。”周同學說，今后，他會花更多的時間去陪伴家人，待學業有成報效祖國。

當地時間3月9日下午，隨著從烏克蘭蘇梅最后一批集中撤離的中國留學生抵達烏克蘭西部城市利沃夫火車站，中國駐烏克蘭大使范先榮宣布從烏克蘭集中撤離中國同胞的任務至此圓滿成功。