Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has grabbed the rest of the world’s attention. American college students gather on their campuses to protest the Russian attacks and to raise money and attention for the innocent in Ukraine. Some of these students have personal ties to Ukraine and others are standing alongside in support of the cause. Most American college students; however, are detached from the situation taking place far from them. They are focused on their own almost-guaranteed college education in front of them, not being able to relate to the students in Ukraine who face the risk of bomb attacks on their college campuses.
Despite hopes and dreams, determination, and hard work, college students in Ukraine are being forced to consider sacrificing their college education for their safety. Those who flee the country to escape the escalating military situation also leave behind their studies with no guarantee that they will be able to return to them. International students report that some Ukrainian colleges have told them that they cannot continue their classes online if they leave the country.
Some students are choosing to stay in Ukraine in order to hold onto their education and future, while some are trying to flee, only finding that there is no easy way out. As the demand to leave the country in Ukraine increases, so do flight prices, making it difficult for students to purchase them. Even if students can afford plane tickets out of the country, most flights are being canceled daily. Students are stuck on college campuses, most away from their families and home countries, with the sound of bombs in the near distance.
Alina Bayrakdarian is an Armenian-American who recently graduated from Grand Canyon University. During her time in college, the European country, Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s aid, invaded the small country of Armenia to claim the city of Artsakh. “The people of Artsakh had to basically grab whatever could fit in their hands or in their cars and leave everything else behind. All their houses and belongings were burned down, and they would never be able to see it again,” she says. Some people who had lived their whole life in Artsakh chose to sacrifice their life to fight for the city rather than fleeing.
She watched from America as thousands of innocent families were separated and killed in her motherland. It hurt to see that so few college students seemed to care about what was going on. Now that a similar situation is taking place in Ukraine, it is important to Alina that college students are aware of the fear and tragedies that individuals are experiencing right now- those in Ukraine physically, and those who have attachments to the country. “We as Americans should feel grateful and blessed that we don’t have to experience this on our own land,” she says.
A laid-out education and career, the ability to fly home next weekend, and the confidence of a safe return to campus is not a reality for college students in Ukraine right now.