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Ukrainian children in Poland: smiling again?
Audio 12:36
The R.Traugutt high school in Warsaw welcomes several students from Ukraine, such as Inessa Czerwińska who takes part in a mathematics course.
© RFI/Agnieszka Kumor
By: Alexandra Cagnard Follow
3 mins
Poland hosts by far the largest number of Ukrainian refugees.
On the 50th day of the Russian offensive, more than 2.5 million have crossed the border, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Among them, more than 700,000 children.
The Poles make it their duty to facilitate their integration.
But how to give these children a semblance of normal life?
Back from reporting, Agnieszka Kumor, journalist at RFI, tells.
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In this episode of
Witnesses to the News
, Agniezska Kumor
explains that schooling is the priority for Ukrainian refugee children in Poland: “
The objective is to find a semblance of normal life with the routine of school.
The head must be elsewhere than in the war
”.
“
Integration
, continues Agnieszaka, goes through language.
Often in Ukraine middle and high school students learn Polish as a second language and in this situation it helps them a lot.
Moreover, before the war, many Ukrainian children had already gone to Poland with their parents who had come to look for work.
These serve as guides to facilitate communication
.”
The teaching staff also makes it a point of honor to welcome them as best as possible: “
The priority for them is to create a space in which the children feel safe.
The idea is also to promote their achievements.
For example, in general, Ukrainian students are better in mathematics than Polish students
”.
Culture and theater are also means of making people forget the drama they are going through.
“
In Warsaw, for example, theater companies have opened workshops where Ukrainian and Polish children get to know each other through improvisation.
The important thing is really to do together and not separately.
Do not stigmatize, do not put a refugee label on these children
”.
Agnieszka Kumor also explains that this solidarity and this living together are obvious for the Poles because of their past history, especially during the Second World War: "
When the war in Ukraine started, it immediately resonated with them
" .
And to show Ukrainian children that an aftermath is possible, Agnieszka recounts this initiative by teachers in Warsaw: "The
idea arose of making an almost touristic visit to Warsaw, telling them: 'You see, our city has been completely razed, destroyed, like your cities, like the places you come from. But Warsaw has been rebuilt and your cities will be too. It will take time, but if you return to Ukraine, you will be able to say, it is possible to rebuild"
.
What also marked Agnieszka was the strong resilience of these children.
“
At first glance, they often have a fixed face, but as soon as they come into contact with other children, they start talking, especially with the little ones, and despite the language barrier.
They start heckling, rediscovering their childlike vitality
”.
This integration also contributes to the reconstruction of the parents: "
The teachers I have met tell me that the children recover more quickly from the trauma of war than their parents, as if they wanted to pass on something to them so that they can heal, they too
”.
►Also listen: Ukrainian refugee children in Poland
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Children's rights
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Refugees
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Agnieszka Kumor
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