Ravi Bhushan, a Ghaziabad resident, was the first of 75 Indian nationals to be evacuated from Syria, where he had been stranded amid escalating conflict. Bhushan, who had initially visited Syria for business purposes, shared his harrowing experiences of the volatile situation in the country.
"The situation in Syria is the worst right now," Bhushan said. "There is widespread panic. People are firing in the open, bombing, looting banks, and damaging everything in sight, including vehicles parked in hotels. The airport has been completely destroyed. The situation will only worsen in the coming days."
Bhushan recounted that he had initially gone to Syria for a business meeting, and everything seemed fine until the uprising erupted. "I was there for some business reasons. At first, everything was okay, and even our customer confirmed that things were under control. But after a few days, the situation changed drastically," he explained.
He expressed his gratitude toward the Indian government for their timely intervention. "India started a rescue operation, and we are the first team to be rescued from Syria. They contacted every single one of us, checking if we were okay, and providing support. The Syrian embassy also kept us updated every hour about the rescue efforts," Bhushan added.
On Wednesday, all 75 Indian nationals, including 44 Zaireen from Jammu and Kashmir, reached Beirut after being evacuated from Saida Zainab in Syria. The evacuation came amid widespread violence in Syria, particularly following the entry of Syrian rebels into Damascus, which forced President Bashar al-Assad to flee, ending his more than two-decade rule.
Bhushan’s ordeal highlights the extreme conditions in Syria, with violence and destruction spreading across the country, making evacuation efforts critical.
