A lot was going through the heads of our Goan kids in Ukraine in those bunkers and bullet-ridden roads

KARSTEN MIRANDA & MARCOS GONSALVES

MARGAO: The level of stress of the Goan students who returned from Ukraine was something they never imagined they would have to endure and has certainly been a life-changing event.

For their parents, they feel their children who were stuck in Ukraine when the war struck, have grown up in a short time as they had to take independent decisions to keep themselves safe and adjust to the ever-changing developments.

While there are informal attempts by the State NRI Commission to get the 21 students to return to engage and talk about their experience given that many of them would have faced similar issues, it has come to family and friends who are providing a support system to these students.

19-year-old Jaeden Gomes Pereira for instance, who was the last of the group to return back speaks about how that experience has made him appreciate the value of life better. From having to deal with the fact that he was stuck in Eastern Ukraine where evacuation was more difficult given that the airports at Kyiv and Kharkiv were destroyed and the many other hurdles he had to face before he finally left Ukraine, Jaeden had to spend days in constant fear for his life.

When he was forced to hide in the bunker below his hostel, they could hear shelling and even get a glimpse of the horrific damage whenever they saw what was happening on the ground above.  Not only that, Jaeden had to deal with the shortage of food, cold weather, lack of washrooms during their long bus travel via the humanitarian corridors.. all this in the fear that their lives were at stake.

For his mother, Anita, his safe return was a miracle and the prayers and messages he received from fellow Goans were a big source of strength. For his father though, Onofre besides worrying about his son, was also worried about his wife and children back home in Benaulim, as they too were very stressed about what was happening with Jaeden.

Whilst parents of the other students also recounted such experiences, where the wait for their children to return felt like a lifetime, the students themselves still have memories of those frightening scary days in Ukraine.

“Yes, I was mentally disturbed. The fear of war cannot be forgotten in just a few days’ time. However, now I am feeling much better. I am relieved. The situation faced in Ukraine was scary, as we were hiding in the bunker for almost one week. The nightmare was very much horrible, as we did not have proper food and water, besides growing fear in our minds. Now, I am feeling very much relieved,” said Mahima Monica Pratap from Curtorim.

“The scary scenes in Ukraine have created an impact on my mind, as I was stranded at the war-torn area. I was very much frightened. The situations faced will always remain in my mind. The scenes of bombarding cannot be forgotten. However, I am trying hard to come out from those situations faced in Ukraine,” added Rutvik Pratap, Mahima’s brother.

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A different kind of worry – education

MARGAO: As much as the parents are relieved that their children are now back home, some of the students are determined to go back to Ukraine when the war is over. However, for their parents, the future of their children’s education is a big worry and while they are open with online classes being held if and when the situation does return to normalcy, they are worried about how this would affect their children’s careers. 

Lakhs of rupees have been spent on their education in Ukraine and given that the students have already completed some semesters at their respective Colleges, both the students and the parents want to know about what will happen next.  

Would they need to start over in terms of their graduation courses etc, what happens to the present semester and all their records? – are some of the questions in their minds. These students had a full plan in terms of completing their courses and the potential jobs after that but for now, it is uncertain times and they will get clarity not soon but in a few months by which they will have to take tough decisions on the next path when it comes to their career. It will also require a lot of mental adjustment for the students to acclimatize to life at their new colleges if that has to happen eventually and if it is in India as opposed to a foreign institute as the issue of admissions, running around is a headache they would have to deal with at some stage.