One year of war in Ukraine - how young refugee Ostap found a second home in Germany

Record ID: 1712431

  • Title: One year of war in Ukraine - how young refugee Ostap found a second home in Germany
  • Date: 23rd February 2023
  • Summary: SCHWALBACH AM TAUNUS, GERMANY (FILE - MAY 20, 2022) (REUTERS) TEACHER HANDING OUT WORKSHEETS TO UKRAINIAN PUPILS OF SO-CALLED "INTENSIVE LANGUAGE CLASS" 3 AT FRIEDRICH-EBERT SCHOOL VARIOUS OF OSTAP FILLING-IN WORKSHEET PAN FROM DISPLAY TO PUPILS PUPILS REPEATING GERMAN WORDS ("THE GLASS IS FULL / THE SHOES ARE NEW / KAPUTT")
  • Embargoed: 9th March 2023 12:38
  • Keywords: germany refugees school teenager ukraine war
  • Location: SCHWALBACH AM TAUNUS, GERMANY
  • City: SCHWALBACH AM TAUNUS, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe
  • Reuters ID: LVA002219122022023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Almost one year ago teenager Ostap Khaliuk fled with his mother to Germany from Ukraine. One year since the start of the war in Ukraine, in which the life of the 14-year-old has changed abruptly.
    "I lived in a big city, in Kyiv, and my life was totally fine. I had a lot of friends, I went to a good school", says Ostap as he reflects on his former life.
    On March 6, 2022, he left Kyiv with his mother Maryna for a completely uncertain destination.
    "At first my mother said that we will stay in Kyiv, but after four days the situation was already very bad and my mother decided to take the train. We didn't know exactly where the train was going, but we knew it was going west," he recalls.
    After marching through the cold for several hours, they crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border near Dolgobychiv. Via Poland and Slovakia, they finally arrived in Schwalbach am Taunus on March 13. In the town outside Frankfurt, they found a room in a former hotel a Ukrainian friend had told them about.
    The first weeks after fleeing from Ukraine were stressful for them, tells Maryna Khaliuk. Especially Ostap suffered to be separated from his friends and the life he was used to.
    Several months later Ostap feels that he found a second home in Germany. In April 2022, shortly after their arrival, Ostap was given the opportunity to attend an intensive class at a school in Schwalbach am Taunus to improve his German language skills. The school reacted quickly to the influx of Ukrainian students and formed an additional so-called intensive class specially designed for Ukrainian children. The aim was to enable the unsettled young people to take part in regular classes as quickly as possible and to continue their school education successfully.
    Today Ostap and his mother still live in Schwalbach, with the intention to stay.
    "You read the news and see that the situation is not improving," explains Maryna Khaliuk. "It has many opportunities, not only for learning but for social life. That's why I felt I could and wanted to stay here. The reason is my son."
    Both are investing a lot of time to build a secure existence in Germany. Maryna Khaliuk is attending a language school in Frankfurt so that she can return to her profession as a graphic designer once her professional qualifications have been successfully recognised.
    Ostap is now a student in Intensive Class 2, where classes are held entirely in German. In addition to German lessons, he for example learns to create computer presentations and he also attends art and sports classes. "I'm happy with my progress," Ostap says.
    There are currently 52 students attending an intensive class at Schwalbach's Friedrich Ebert School, 18 of whom are from Ukraine, school director Felix Bloemeke said. "Overall, I still experience the Ukrainian students somewhat more as a closed group than the other students in the intensive classes."
    He suspects this has to do with the uncertainty they feel about how things will turn out for them in Germany in the long term.
    Ostap has already decided what his goals for the future are. "I plan for my future to graduate from high school and to go to university in Germany and work as a programmer or AI engineer." His teacher in the intensive class, Roland Glotzbach, is confident and thinks the progress his student has made is remarkable. He expects Ostap to be able to obtain a solid high school diploma if he were to stay in Germany.
    For Ostap, things are clear. For him, Germany is more than just a country that allows him to live away from the war in Ukraine.
    "I want to stay in Germany all my life," said Ostap.
    (Production: Timm Reichert, Ulrike Heil)
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