Indian Woman Found Starving and Battling Depression on Chicago Streets Receiving Treatment

Syeda Lulu Minhaj Zaidi is now receiving care at a hospital in Chicago and her parents are preparing to come visit her, according to a tweet by Bharat Rashtra Samithi senior leader Khaleequr Rahman. A social worker in Chicago told him that  Zaidi “is in major depression and mentally unstable condition due to the financial situation she got into as she couldn’t get the job.” He said that “the first & the foremost thing is to get her out of the depression, then only she will be able to travel to India, he wrote, adding that “the Indian community is taking care of her.”

The development comes after a video of the Indian woman found starving on a street in Chicago began doing rounds on social media. She reportedly who came to the U.S. from Hyderabad to pursue a master’s degree at Trine University in Detroit, Michigan. The 37-year-old engineer is a former lecturer in Hyderabad.

Her plight was first bought to attention by Amjed Ullah Khan, spokesperson for Majlis Bachao Tahreek. Zaidi was found in “a very bad condition in Chicago,” he wrote, adding that her mother has appealed to India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar “to bring back her daughter.” Details of her passport and visa were also uploaded by the leader.

Reports in Indian media say Zaidi ended up battling depression and starvation after her belongings were stolen. The viral video shows a malnourished Zaidi who is in talking in Hindi with an unidentified man. the video. She has difficulty in remembering her name initially, after which she recounts her deteriorating condition. She was taken to a hospital for treatment, which left her weaker after her blood was drawn for tests. The man in the video offers her some water and food and assures her of help. He also suggests that Zaidi consider returning to Hyderabad. 

Khan’s post has been extensively shared on Twitter and has elicited responses about “the vulnerability some international students experience while pursuing their dreams abroad,” and the need “to prioritize creating a supportive environment for all students.”