Chicago: The Consulate General of India in Chicago has offered medical and travel assistance to Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi, a Hyderabad woman who was discovered starving on the streets of Chicago last week.
Syeda Zaidi had gone to the United States to pursue a master's degree but was found in a distressed state, with all her belongings stolen and suffering from depression.
The woman's condition came to light when Amjed Ullah Khan, a spokesperson of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) party based in Telangana, brought attention to her plight. In a video shared by Amjed Ullah Khan, Syeda Zaidi is seen sitting on a street corner with a few belongings. She initially struggles to recall her name and explains that her health further deteriorated after blood samples were taken for testing at a hospital.
After being spotted on the streets, Syeda Zaidi's mother, Syeda Wahaj Fatima, reached out to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging immediate intervention to bring her daughter back to India.
Responding to the situation, the Consulate General of India in Chicago tweeted, "Happy that we could contact Ms Syeda Zaidi and offered help, including medical assistance and travel to India. She is fit and has spoken to her mother in India. She is yet to respond to our offer of support to return to India. We stand ready to extend to her all assistance."
Syeda Zaidi went to TRINE University in Detroit to pursue a Master's in Information Science in August 2021. Her mother expressed concern that she had lost contact with her daughter for the past two months and had recently learned that she was in a deep state of depression and struggling with starvation due to her belongings being stolen.
Following the MBT's appeal to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Indian Consulate in Chicago conveyed that Syeda Zaidi's immediate travel was not feasible, given her condition. Efforts are now underway to send her parents to Chicago to take care of her. However, her parents currently do not have passports, and the MBT has appealed to IT Minister KTR of Telangana to assist in obtaining passports and visas from the US Consulate in Hyderabad.
The situation garnered swift responses from the government and various organisations, with many offering help to facilitate the return of Syeda Zaidi to India. The woman's distressing condition and her mother's plea for assistance have sparked concern and support from different quarters. The Consulate General of India in Chicago has reaffirmed its readiness to provide all necessary assistance for her return.