A Ukrainian student has praised the “supportive” welcome she has received from the people of Hackney, a contrast to the “constant terror” in her homeland.
Yeva Starova, 17, worries in particular about her parents who live in Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine which was hit by missiles just this week as part of a Russian attack on power and water supplies. “Every day I watch the news to see if my city was bombed or not. Recently there were two times when my mum’s office was bombed…less than a kilometre from my house.”
Starova attributes much of her positive experience in the UK to BSix college, where she is in her first year studying A-levels in maths, further maths and economics. Despite finding the transition to a new school “difficult at first”, she emphasised the role of her teachers in “always trying to help. It’s not fake…people are genuinely interested in you as a person”.
Having arrived in June, Starova lives with a host family in the Hackney Downs area together with her brother and grandma. She said that while she was “really grateful” for the welcome she has received, she still found it “hard to talk about…feelings with strangers”.
Starova spoke to the Hackney Post after her appearance at BSix college’s ‘Have Your Say’ conference on Tuesday. Now in its tenth year, the event allows students to pose topical questions to a panel of community leaders, as well as expressing their own opinions. During the conference, Starova invited the panel to discuss their views on how best to promote peace while still defending against Russian aggression.
BSix college is one of two recommended by Hackney Council for Ukrainian students aged between 16 and 19. Starova is aware of three other Ukrainian girls at her school and said: “It’s good to have someone to speak with…they know you, they know your feelings.”
Starova is originally from Donetsk which was recently annexed after a sham referendum denounced by the Ukrainian government and its allies. The family relocated to Dnipro in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea and were on holiday in the Dominican Republic when Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. “We had return flights on 26 February and on the 24th they started the war”.
After extending the holiday for an extra month, the family moved between Poland, Spain and Germany but soon realised the conflict “would not end as soon as we thought”. Starova’s parents decided to send her and her brother abroad while they returned to Ukraine and, with the help of family friends, were able to find sponsors to bring them to the UK.
The ‘Have Your Say’ event was chaired by Hackney Downs councillor Michael Desmond and featured a panel of local community leaders: Metropolitan Police Sergeant Stevie Bull, College Principal Kevin Watson, Hackney Gazette editor André Langlois and the director of legal, democratic and electoral services at Hackney Council, Dawn Carter-McDonald.
The war in Ukraine was one of several topics discussed during the event. Both the panel and student audience were also invited to share their thoughts on importance of education, the future of television and whether the age of consent should be lowered.
