Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (File photo/Shutterstock)
The Chief Minister’s Office said the couple were supposed to take part in a meeting of foreign students in Kerala that was held on Thursday as part of Keraleeyam celebrations
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday spoke to a Palestine couple, who are studying at the University of Kerala, after reports that they lost their family members in one of the Israeli rocket attacks. Vijayan contacted Furat JM Almosalmi, who is doing MA (Linguistics) at the University of Kerala, and her husband, Samer JH Abuowda, pursuing PhD in linguistics from the same University and expressed condolences and consoled them.
The Chief Minister’s Office said the couple were supposed to take part in a meeting of foreign students in Kerala that was held on Thursday as part of Keraleeyam celebrations.
“However, their relatives were killed in the rocket attack by Israel yesterday. Their parents have evacuated to southern Gaza as refugees. Their apartment was destroyed in yesterday’s attack,” the CMO statement said. It said they were unable to attend the meeting of foreign students in Kerala after the news of the attack killing their relatives. Vijayan spoke to the couple after coming to know about the incident from university officials.
Over 160 students from 41 countries studying at Kerala University and affiliated colleges were present at the foreign students meeting that was held in the state capital on Thursday. Around 450 foreign students are studying in Kerala.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)