On Thursday evening, the first group of Ugandan students who had been stuck in the ongoing Joint Iran/ Israel bombing of Iran, arrived at Entebbe International Airport aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight at 5:45 pm.
The students who are all pursuing their studies from Ahlul Bayt International University in Tehran were received by the state minister for gender, labour, and social development Balaam Barugahara alongside UPDF, State House and Foreign affairs officials at the Airport.
Minster Barugahara revealed that the repatriation was made possible through joint efforts by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) under the guidance of the CDF Gen Muhoozi kainerugaba and the ministry of foreign affairs.
Barugahara told media that the students were 51 in total from the university but eight of them declined to return back home, leaving only 43 to travel back home willingly.
Mr Barugahara further said government is making efforts to evacuate a second batch of 53 students currently stuck at Al-Mustafa International University (MIU) in Qom.
While addressing the media, the students who looked relieved to be back home expressed gratitude to UPDF, government, Uganda’s Ambassador to Iran Twaha Matata, Uganda’s Defence Advisor in Turkey, Maj. Gen. Bob Ogiki for ensuring their safe travel back home, in a journey that took more than 48 hours.
Mr Isaac Nimwesiga, a final year student of architecture engineering and Chairman of Ugandans in Iran said even though the journey was long, they are grateful to God and embassy officials who ensured their safe return back home.
“On Saturday, 28th of Feb, that’s when the war broke up and we found means of how we could leave Iran because it was no longer safe for us, through our ambassador Twaha Matata on phone, we happened to move and we organised, we got a bus which to take us from Tehran to the border of Turkey which is called Bazargan” he narrated.
He added, “We moved for around 14 hours and reached there the following day, in the afternoon, around midday. We stayed there, waiting for our approval to cross over to the border, which was done with the help of the embassy in Turkey, led by His Excellency Ambassador H.E. Nusura Tiperu, we managed to cross in the evening and we had to set off for Istanbul”.
Nimwesiga noted that even though the journey from Bazargan to Istanbul was lengthy and took around 15hours, the group safely reached Istanbul, Turkey where they were received at a hotel by Major General Bob Ojik.
“With the help of the embassy in Turkey, we had a comfortable stay in Turkey for all this long and now, today, we had to leave Turkey and come back to Uganda. But above all, we want to be grateful to God who protected us from day one up to now” he said.
However, some of the students asked government to provide a provisional university in Uganda where those who were left with a short period of time can complete their studies, instead of traveling back to Tehran after the war.
Oscar Niyejema, a fourth year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering noted that given the circumstances, unsure when the war will end, having an alternative study area at home would benefit many of them.
“In a very humble manner, we would like to request that if there is a way we could get assimilated into different universities in Uganda, where we can be able to finish our studies, it would be very, very great for us because that country is so volatile geopolitically, nobody knows what is going to happen next” he said.
Aloysius Segawa, a masters of international relations student at the university revealed that the eight students who chose to stay back in Tehran, did so since they couldn’t afford air tickets back to Iran when the war ends thus choose to persevere through the bombings in order to be able to complete their studies after the war ends.
