Monrovia – Some 20 self-sponsored Liberian students in India have complained about being stranded in the Asian nation and have made an SOS call to the government to help them return home.
Alex Mulbah, the spokesman for the stranded Liberian students, said there are more students who want to come back to Liberia but only 20 of them are currently financially prepared to return home.
“Since the Ebola crisis, we have been stranded. We’ve been speaking with the Liberian consulate, but from March it was today we received communication from the Consulate Office that there are arrangements being made with Ethiopia Airline for us to go to Ivory Coast and it’s going to cost us about US$1,000 plus but we have to then make our own way from Ivory Coast to Liberia, which might create difficulties for us,” explains Mulbah said.
According to him, returning to Liberia is something they have long awaited, but they do not want to use the Ivory Coast route, considering the risk they might encounter.
Mulbah said they want government to help make arrangement with a flight that will bring them directly to Liberia, adding that the cost should not matter but their safety to be back home is mostly important.
“We are willing to undergo the cost, but we want an arrangement that will enable us reach safely,” he said.
He added that the arrangement made by the Consulate to get them back home through Ivory Coast might be risky for them because, they do not know what they might encounter ahead.
“We will be spending over thousands of dollars to get to Ivory Coast, and we do not know how long it will take us to leave Ivory Coast, and Ivory Coast is not safe also,” he said. “While if we will spend two or three days, we do not know the expenses ahead of us.”
“Since the Ebola crisis, we have been stranded. We’ve been speaking with the Liberian consulate, but from March it was today we received communication from the Consulate Office that there are arrangements being made with Ethiopia Airline for us to go to Ivory Coast and it’s going to cost us about US$1,000 plus but we have to then make our own way from Ivory Coast to Liberia, which might create difficulties for us.”
Alex Mulbah, Spokesman for the stranded Liberian students in India
He further stated that some of the universities in which they are pursuing their degrees have transferred their courses online which would enable them join classes even when they are in Liberia.
“This is a pandemic and we are not safe here, but we believe Liberia is much safer,” Mulbah averred, adding that when the global health crisis is over, they would return to India to complete their studies.
Mulbah is calling on President George Weah to intervene and ensure that they get a flight that will bring them directly to Liberia.