“We are not used to peaceful life; at home, in Ochakiv, I feel insecure, I am very afraid,” says Irina, 14, who is part of the group of 25 children who have traveled to Catalonia to disconnect for three weeks of the war. The schoolchildren arrived last Friday in Pineda de Mar, the day after tomorrow they will travel to Salou and will conclude their stay on the Catalan coast in Calella de Mar.
A former attaché of the Ukrainian consulate in Barcelona put the Government Delegation in Catalonia in contact with the town hall of Ochakiv, about ten kilometers from the battle front in southern Crimea, and the Peace Vacations project was created. The mayor of this town, Serhii Bychkov, explained today that since the war broke out, his municipality has gone from 16,000 to less than 8,000 inhabitants, of which 850 are minors who follow the course online or attend one of the two schools. who maintain face-to-face classes. He says that since September a bunker school has been operating, attended by a hundred students. After more than two years subjected to inhuman stress, these vacations aim to offer this first group a rest and leisure time without having to watch out for sirens and bombings.
Irina; Karina, 11 years old; Olga, 15; Artem, 14, who has lost his father, or Hanna, one of the monitors who accompanies them, are grateful for being able to spend a few days away from the violence, but they state without hesitation that they cannot imagine a life in a country other than their own. “At first we couldn’t sleep without taking medicine, the war has left us many wounds, now we just want to enjoy the sun and bathe in the sea,” says Olga. In Ochakiv, they have not set foot on the beach for a long time because it is mined.
The initiative has been possible thanks to the involvement of the municipalities of Pineda, Salou and Calella, the hotels that have hosted them, as well as different entities and companies that have supported them. The group was received this morning at the Government Delegation in Barcelona, ??and their plans include visiting the Tibidabo and Port Aventura parks, as well as the Sagrada Família, Park Güell or Casa Navàs, in Reus; watch a Barça match, and play sports, among other activities.
“The days are very boring, at home, following online classes. I feel that the most important thing is to communicate with other people who have gone through the same thing as me, the loss of my father,” says Artem. Olga, a realist, considers that “even on days when we don’t have bombings we feel afraid of what might happen the next day.”
The Government delegate, Carlos Prieto, has expressed his desire that this project can be replicated by other administrations and has announced that contacts have been initiated with a school in kyiv to organize a trip to Catalonia for a second group of children.
