“To be precise, since January 17, my roommate and I don’t open our door if it’s not absolutely necessary. We don’t even trust our own breath,” said a Bangladeshi student studying at the China Three Gorges University in Yichang, the second largest city of Hubei province after its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the Novel Coronavirus.
This is how the student described the confined life of his and 170 more Bangladeshi students in Yichang, some 260 kilometres away from Wuhan and within the red zone declared by the Chinese government.
Yichang, like the rest of Hubei province, has been sealed off to prevent spreading the deadly virus that has already claimed over 800 people, mostly in Wuhan.
The student, who requested not to be named, told Dhaka Tribune over the phone: “The way we are leading our lives since being locked up is unbearable. How long can you confine yourself to a small room? And, think also about our relatives, who must be very stressed now.”
“Apart from the confinement, Bangladeshi students are suffering from various psychological traumas including panic attacks and anxiety. The other day one of our mates was complaining of severe chest pain. After we took him to the hospital, doctors said that the chest pain is attributable to panic attacks,” he said.
“There is also an acute shortage of food and water here. A student next to our room was eating only sugar. We then provided him with whatever little food we did have,” said the student.
Asked if the authorities concerned are not supplying food, he said: “They do, but it’s not adequate. The process is that we have to write to the authorities for food a couple of days in advance. Most of the time, it gets delayed and the amount of food is curtailed. We, the Bangladeshi students, don’t enjoy the food they supply, but we appreciate that it’s an emergency.”
To a question, the student sai:, “Given the situation, the Chinese authorities are doing all they can.”
However, he has been critical of the Bangladesh government, saying: “Students of most countries, including some African nations, have already been evacuated. Only we, along with Pakistani and some African students, are still stuck in this city.”
“We will live happily on an isolated island if the government flies us back to Bangladesh,” he said, adding that the Bangladesh Embassy in China is not helping them in the way it should.
Bangladesh Ambassador to China, Mahbub Uz Zaman, disagreed, saying that given the situation, his Embassy is doing all it can to support the 171 students in Yichang.
“Since the city is locked down, you need approval in every aspect. Roadblocks have been introduced. Sometimes, we cannot do certain things on our own. There’s an issue regarding a joint consultative mechanism,” he said.
The Ambassador went on to say that China has the resources and capability to fight the virus.
“We commend the Chinese government for its efforts and hope the situation will gradually improve,” he said.