Alona Gudanets, a 26 year old from Ukraine, came to Cabrillo College to study dental hygiene. She arrived in the U.S. seven months ago, having decided last year to change her life path and try to live in another place.
Now she fears for her country, her family, and friends.
The home she left in the city of Dnipro is 6,000 miles away, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is killing thousands of innocent people in what has been called a war crime. Cities are being destroyed by missiles, bombs, tanks and artillery.
“The United States should do more to help the people in my homeland. This is a dark time for every Ukrainian, no matter where they are located in the world,” said Ms. Gudanets.
“Today Ukraine is against Russia and fighting for the rest of the western world alone. Ukraine needs immediate and effective action by world leaders, to stop the Russian aggression.”
Being in the United States has had its benefits for Gudanets. She says a positive aspect of being an international student is that each culture can be explored. “It is a good opportunity to know more about a culture and the people in the country as well as try national cuisine. I look at it as an adventure in life,” she said.
A negative aspect is that there can be a language barrier at times. And, she misses her family and friends back home.
“There are many friends across the country who stay in Dnipro, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv, all cities over Ukraine,” she said.
All of the cities where her family and friends live have come under Russian attack. Kharkiv has been especially devastated by constant bombardment, civilians were executed in the suburbs of Kyiv, and on April 18, Lviv was struck by cruise missiles for the first time in the war.
“Ukraine and Russia have had a long historical relationship, and this is not the first aggression,” Gudanets said. In 2014, Ukraine decided to go down the path of democracy instead of Russian totalitarianism. This was a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin started trying to rebuild the old USSR.
The tipping point of the latest conflict was when officials in the Ukrainian government chose to follow the path of democracy and Ukrainian officials disobeyed the Kremlin.
“This is a violent and barbarian act of terrorism, against civilians,” she said. “I just want the war to end as soon as possible so that I can hug my mom, dad, and sister.”
As some Ukrainians rush to get out, others stay to hold their ground.
“They wish to destroy Ukraine as a country, but Ukrainians will fight to win,” said Gudanets.
