NEW educational and humanitarian links have been forged between students in Ukraine and the people of Schull.
West Cork language lecturer Brendan Molloy has just returned from the country with a Ukrainian family who have made Schull their home. Alona Hubska and her daughter Daiana had been in their village near the Black Sea city of Mykailov visiting family when they extended an invitation to Brendan to come and visit.
Brendan, who returns to Ukraine for a month each year to help students who are more determined than ever to learn English, was only too delighted to oblige.
He then made the return trip to Schull with Alona and Daiana, who live at Colla Road, having shared a memorable visit.
The mother and daughter hadn’t been home for two years because it had been perilously close to the front line in the fight against Russia’s invading forces.
‘It’s relatively okay now,’ said Brendan, who was delighted to again be able to work face-to-face with his students, many of whom take part in online courses.
Russian troops had targeted Mykailov to Odessa to create a corridor to Moldova, but they were repelled. But it remains in the danger zone, according to Brendan, who witnessed two rocket attacks over the city on the morning he was leaving.
On their journey from the village into the city, Brendan said he could see a significantly increased level of security – both military and police – in the region.
‘I never really feel uncomfortable except perhaps for the morning I left Kyiv because the sirens had sent everyone to the relative security of the metro stations,’ he added.
‘Every time I go to Ukraine, I remind myself I have a job to do. I never felt I wanted to leave. I was quite happy to be there and to visit 11 schools and four universities as part of this year’s itinerary,’ said Brendan.
‘This was quite an extensive trip and I found the students were much more aware of Irish history. I found myself quizzed about the partition of the country and speaking on the impact of the Good Friday agreement.
‘Some believe the Russian president Putin is more inclined to make a peace agreement provided he can retain some of the territory already taken,’ said the English teacher.
In an overview of his visit, Brendan said: ‘It gives the students I meet in classes and assembly halls a lift to be there in person instead of just online.’
‘What was difficult this time is that some of the students can see a future in Ukraine but others can’t. They don’t know what to do. For my part, I found that all I could do was to encourage them to continue to do their best in school, and to continue to improve their English, because some of them do want to travel but others are determined to stay and rebuild their country.’
Brendan studied for his diploma in youth and community development and his bachelor of social science at UCC. He followed up those qualifications with a masters of sociology of globalisation and development.
He is originally from Dublin but also lived in Australia for 23 years, where he worked in retail and banking before deciding to become a teacher.
‘I went back as a mature student and it all took off from there,’ said Brendan. ‘It was my masters that had a big influence on me wanting to teach because globalisation, as we view it, has been dismantled.
‘With globalisation, the world was one big trading family but the war has undermined that particular model, resulting in a fuel crisis, massive inflation, sanctions on the Russian federation. Trust has gone for now and could take generations before it is restored.’
Brendan is open to hearing from anyone with an interest in supporting the further education of Ukrainian students. Brendan can be contacted at [email protected].
