Reliving the great Ukrainian escape
A year later, the carnage continues
One of the 193 Namibian students who had to abandon their studies in Ukraine amid a hail of Russian bullets has lived to narrate the ordeal.
One year ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. It was just four months before Monica* was set finish her studies.
She is one of 193 Namibian students who had to leave everything behind in Ukraine and flee to Poland before she could return home.
"All the Namibians supported and helped each other. We made sure that no Namibian was left behind," she said.
She recalls her 24-hour journey to safety.
"There was little tension in Zaporizhzhia, where I lived."
Zaporizhzhia is an industrial hub with numerous power stations, with heavy industrial products produced in the region, including steel, aircraft engines and transformers for substations.
She wanted to travel to Lviv – over 1 000 kilometres away - but trains were reserved for Ukrainian women and children. The city is some 60 kilometres from the Polish border. They waited 12 hours for a train that was promised to foreigners.
"We were stranded in the cold for hours. There were so many people. A group of us later decided to take a taxi to the border, but that came with its own set of challenges,” she said, adding that they had to pay three times the normal fare. The driver also insisted on being paid in US dollars and would not accept the Ukrainian currency.
Monica said the taxi could not take them directly to the border either, and the group of students had to walk 40 minutes before a bus picked them up.
"Fortunately, we were able to locate the Namibian delegate at the border who took us to our accommodation. At that stage, we knew we were safe."
Fearing for their lives
Monica said she still has friends in Ukraine who had nowhere else to go and have been fearing for their lives ever since.
"It is sad to know that some of my professors were called up to help fight and they died for their country."
Zaporizhzhia is currently a huge target for Russian missiles.
Monica said she decided to study in Ukraine because she wanted to gain experience abroad. It was a suitable and affordable option.
"The cost of living was not high and it was friendly and accommodating to all the foreign students who were there."
A big disadvantage was learning a new language, because outside the university, people speak Russian or Ukrainian.
Since her return to Namibia, she has been doing her clinical rotation at the Windhoek State Hospital.
"I was able to complete my studies with exemption because I was in my final semester and we wrote our final exam online," she said.
Brutal
In a statement, Josep Borrell, a European Union high-level representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said the invasion was and remains brutal, unprovoked and illegal.
"This is a case of pure aggression and a clear violation of the United Nations Charter. No one is safe in a world where the illegal use of force - by a nuclear power producer and permanent member of the Security Council - would somehow be considered normal."
* Not her real name
She is one of 193 Namibian students who had to leave everything behind in Ukraine and flee to Poland before she could return home.
"All the Namibians supported and helped each other. We made sure that no Namibian was left behind," she said.
She recalls her 24-hour journey to safety.
"There was little tension in Zaporizhzhia, where I lived."
Zaporizhzhia is an industrial hub with numerous power stations, with heavy industrial products produced in the region, including steel, aircraft engines and transformers for substations.
She wanted to travel to Lviv – over 1 000 kilometres away - but trains were reserved for Ukrainian women and children. The city is some 60 kilometres from the Polish border. They waited 12 hours for a train that was promised to foreigners.
"We were stranded in the cold for hours. There were so many people. A group of us later decided to take a taxi to the border, but that came with its own set of challenges,” she said, adding that they had to pay three times the normal fare. The driver also insisted on being paid in US dollars and would not accept the Ukrainian currency.
Monica said the taxi could not take them directly to the border either, and the group of students had to walk 40 minutes before a bus picked them up.
"Fortunately, we were able to locate the Namibian delegate at the border who took us to our accommodation. At that stage, we knew we were safe."
Fearing for their lives
Monica said she still has friends in Ukraine who had nowhere else to go and have been fearing for their lives ever since.
"It is sad to know that some of my professors were called up to help fight and they died for their country."
Zaporizhzhia is currently a huge target for Russian missiles.
Monica said she decided to study in Ukraine because she wanted to gain experience abroad. It was a suitable and affordable option.
"The cost of living was not high and it was friendly and accommodating to all the foreign students who were there."
A big disadvantage was learning a new language, because outside the university, people speak Russian or Ukrainian.
Since her return to Namibia, she has been doing her clinical rotation at the Windhoek State Hospital.
"I was able to complete my studies with exemption because I was in my final semester and we wrote our final exam online," she said.
Brutal
In a statement, Josep Borrell, a European Union high-level representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said the invasion was and remains brutal, unprovoked and illegal.
"This is a case of pure aggression and a clear violation of the United Nations Charter. No one is safe in a world where the illegal use of force - by a nuclear power producer and permanent member of the Security Council - would somehow be considered normal."
* Not her real name
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