The Indian Consulate in Chicago informed that it has offered help to Zaidi for her return to India and is awaiting her response.
Published Aug 07, 2023 | 7:29 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 07, 2023 | 7:29 PM
Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi. (Supplied)
The mother of Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi, an engineer from Hyderabad who was found on the streets of Chicago in a fragile condition last month, is waiting for her visa approval to the US, and is also seeking financial aid for flying down there.
“We spoke to her. She is better, speaking to us well. But when we ask her to return she refuses. So the only way that lies ahead is for me to go there and bring her back. The Consulate here have asked us to undergo the application process,” Minhaj Zaidi’s mother Syeda Wahaj Fatima told South First adding that visa is also sought for Zaidi’s aunt Bushera.
On 5 August, the Indian Consulate in Chicago, through a social media post, said that it had offered help to Zaidi whose health is better now.
“Happy that we could contact Ms. Syeda Zaidi & offered help, including medical assistance & travel to India. She is fit & spoken to her mother in India. She is yet to respond on our offer of support to return to India. We stand ready to extend to her all assistance [sic],” the Indian Consulate said.
Happy that we could contact Ms. Syeda Zaidi & offered help, including medical assistance & travel to India. She is fit & spoken to her mother in India. She is yet to respond on our offer of support to return to India. We stand ready to extend to her all assistance.@MEAIndia
— India in Chicago (@IndiainChicago) August 5, 2023
Fatima wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on 22 July requesting him to ensure her safe return after Minhaj Akhtar informed the girl’s parents about her condition.
Fatima added that her daughter was in a state of “deep depression” after losing most of her valuables.
Fatima last spoke to her daughter a few days ago and tried to persuade her to return to her home in Hyderabad.
“She is staying in a women’s hostel with the help of Indian embassy officials in Chicago. She seems happy but her health is still a worry for me as she is not eating much. She is down with spirit too because she could not finish the degree and her dreams seem slipping away,” Fatima explained to South First.
She added that Amjed Ullah Khan, the spokesperson for the Telangana-based political party Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT), is assisting the family in visa proceedings.
Syeda Lulu’s condition came to the fore after Khan posted a message with her details on social media on 26 July.
Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi from Hyd went to persue MS from TRINE University, Detroit was found in a very bad condition in Chicago, her mother appealed @DrSJaishankar to bring back her daughter.@HelplinePBSK @IndiainChicago @IndianEmbassyUS @sushilrTOI @meaMADAD pic.twitter.com/GIhJGaBA7a
— Amjed Ullah Khan MBT (@amjedmbt) July 25, 2023
Speaking to South First, Khan said that Chicago-based Hyderabad-origin social activist, Syed Mukkarum has also made some assurances.
“From him, we have received ₹1 lakh for processing of visa and assurance for three tickets (mother, aunt and nephew) from Hyderabad to Chicago. Arrangements for their stay will also be made till Syeda Lulu Zaidi returns,” the MBT spokesperson detailed.
In August 2021, Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi, a former lecturer at Hyderabad’s Shadan College of Engineering & Technology, went to Chicago in the US to pursue a postgraduate degree.
After finishing her MTech in the first division, the resident of Sadullah Nagar in Hyderabad enrolled in an Information Technology course at Trine University’s Detroit (Michigan) Education Center.
Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi when she met Syed Mukarrum. (Supplied)
“She is a bright student. When the lockdown was imposed due to Covid-19, she wrote exams and got enrolled. She was very happy then,” Fatima told South First earlier.
After landing in the US, Syeda Lulu used to communicate regularly with her mother until two months ago.
However, in a turn of events, the 33-year-old went incommunicado with her mother and was found stranded on the streets of Chicago in a frail condition.
“She said that most of her belongings — including luggage, many documents, phone, and several other things — were stolen. So, she went into depression and did not even eat, and was stranded on the roads of Chicago,” said Fatima earlier.
Zaidi she reached Chicago by bus and underwent treatment here at a city hospital after the intervention of a few Hyderabad-origin social activists in Chicago.
