Tens of thousands of foreigners live in Wuhan, capital city of central China’s Hubei province. Many of them have stayed there despite the pneumonia outbreak, and fought the war against the novel coronavirus together with the people of the city.

A Bu from Iraq

A Bu, a teacher at Wuhan University, has lived in the city for 16 years and is married to a local Chinese.

According to A Bu, he and his wife cancelled their plans fort Spring Festival and tried to stay at home, or wore masks if they had to go out.

“Despite the reports by some foreign media, I choose to believe what I see,” he said, pointing out that the Chinese government has taken effective measures to combat the epidemic and the medical workers are highly devoted and responsible.

As the new semester starts, A Bu has started giving online lessons. “I’m confident that China will defeat the pneumonia and that Wuhan will restore its vitality,” he said.

Yi Bu from Yemen

Yi Bu, a Yemini poet, decided to stay in Wuhan after the coronavirus broke out. “I like the city and I want to fight against the coronavirus along with the Chinese people,” he said.

His eight-year-old son, who speaks fluent Chinese, has already started taking online lessons at home. “As soon as the epidemic is over, I want to go back to school and hang out with my classmates,” said his son.

“The neighbors are very friendly, and Wuhan is a city full of love,” said Yi Bu. Right now, he is writing a poem for Wuhan, in which he expresses hope that the city will survive these dark times and eventually embrace the sunshine again.

He Xiaona from Morocco

He Xiaona, who comes from Morocco, has been in China for six years and is currently studying for her doctorate in Wuhan University.

He Xiaona (Photo/CRI Online)

Instead of leaving Wuhan after the pneumonia outbreak, she stayed at the university, which has been providing necessities for foreign students. “Wuhan is my second home and I refuse to leave behind the Chinese people who have cared for me,” she said.

She has donated blood four or five times and 5,000 yuan to combat the epidemic. “As long as I’m needed, I will do much more,” said the foreign student.

For the past six years, she has shared stories about studying and living in China on her social media and inspired at least 500 people to learn Mandarin at the Confucius Institute in Morocco.

“I’m not afraid of the coronavirus because I believe that a strong country like China can defeat it eventually,” she said.

Yang Kang from Afghanistan

Yang Kang, an Afghan student at the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), has also chosen to stay in the city together with the Chinese people.

Yang has become a volunteer helping teachers in the university provide services for the 300 international students who are staying at the school. These tasks include ordering meals and daily necessities and distributing medical materials for them.

“We believe in the determination and capabilities of the Chinese government and that Wuhan will certainly get better,” said Yang.