Worried: Half a world away

Four Jamaican students studying in fear in tension-filled Ukraine

Tyrone Thompson, Staff Reporter

The sabre rattling and turmoil in Ukraine may be of passing interest to many outside the region, but for a group of Jamaican students studying in that eastern European country, the fear is real and the prospects terrifying.

One of those students is Stacia Goodlit, who arrived in the north eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in October of 2013 to begin the first of six years of study for her medical degree at the Kharkiv National Medical University (KNMU).

For her, the main reason she decided to study in the Ukraine was the cost.

"Tuition is just about US$5,000 dollars per year, as against US$49,000 per year for medical school in the United States, so coming from a middle-class family, this opportunity was a no-brainer," said Goodlit.

However, in November 2013, a mere month after she arrived in the country, Ukrainians in the capital city of Kiev started protesting against President Viktor Yanukovych's decision not to deepen relations with the European Union.

After weeks of demonstrations and clashes in the streets, Yanukovych was forced to flee the country. In the weeks following his departure, Russian forces have invaded the Crimea region of Ukraine triggering fears of an all out war between the forces which expelled Yanukovych and the Russians.

For Goodlit and the other Jamaicans studying at KNMU, the situation has been extremely tense.

"The city where I am is calm at the moment. All that has happened here are a few peaceful protests by pro-Russian supporters. There were rumours last week that protesters from Kiev had crossed Kharkov's borders and entered the city, but nothing has happened yet," said Goodlit.

Despite this relative state of calm around the university, there is much unease among the Jamaican students.

"Even though there has been no major outbreak of violence where we are, the university has let the local students go for the semester and has been warning us to stay inside as much as possible."

With the closest Jamaican consulate in the region hundreds of miles away in Berlin, Germany, the Jamaican students say they are almost alone in the midst of the crises.

"The only instructions we have received (from the Jamaican Consulate) is that we should keep them updated as often as possible when new developments occur."

The Jamaican consulate in Germany has confirmed that there are four Jamaicans enrolled at the KNMU. According to the consulate, it is monitoring the situation and will maintain contact with the students.

'I assume they are fine'

"Contact has been made with the student representative who has confirmed that the situation in their city is 'somewhat stable' so by that, I assume they are fine. She has undertaken to contact the embassy if they feel 'threatened' in any way," Jamaica's Ambassador to Germany, Margaret Jobson, responded to questions from The Sunday Gleaner.

But that is little comfort for Goodlit and her fellow students.

"We are all watching the situation closely and keeping our guard up because we do not want to be misinformed or trapped in a bad situation. Personally, I am fearful for my safety here. We all are."

According to Stacia, while her studies have not yet been directly affected, the fear of escalating tensions has already driven other foreign students out of the country.

"Some of them (foreign students) have already gone back to their countries, while others have booked open airline tickets as a precautionary measure, and if things escalate we wont hesitate to come back home as well, even if it means giving up on our education."