While citizens of wealthy countries prepare to be evacuated from China's locked-down city of Wuhan, African students see little chance of escape.
some citizens, Bakari has become a leader for hundreds of African peers with little chance of a similar escape.“I’m feeling like I’m trapped here,” said Abel, an Ethiopian student at Wuhan University of Science and Technology who gave only his first name. He, like other students, cited worries that angering the Chinese people or authorities could lead to retaliation, like losing their scholarships.
“Together we are one family,” the association tweeted Tuesday, encouraging fellow Africans to follow precautionary measures. Speaking by phone, Bakari sounded remarkably relaxed, even chuckling, as he described life under lockdown. A Ghanaian student said campus authorities at Wuhan University of Science and Technology had warned students against sharing videos, photos or messages about the virus on WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app, threatening to cut their Wi-Fi connections if they do.
Another Tanzanian on the grassroots committee, Dr. Hilal Kizwi, described a situation “full of panic” especially for newer African students who don’t yet speak Chinese. Students have reached out to Tanzania’s embassy about leaving Wuhan and were told authorities were working on it, Kizwi said. “But I don’t expect it.”There is little to do. Police are constantly monitoring people who are out and about, his countryman Bakari said. Most supermarkets and pharmacies are closed. The one shop at his and Kizwi’s school, Tongji Medical College, quickly sells out of supplies every day.
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