If there’s a manner out of the conflict in Ukraine, Professor Igor Serdyuk and his spouse Tatyana, have most likely discovered it.
They now stay as refugees in a peaceable market city in rural Ireland.
Their house metropolis, within the Kherson area, was taken by the Russians on the primary day of the invasion however for the primary couple of months the professor nonetheless did his job.
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As the director of No 14 Vocational and Technical School in Nova Kakhovka, the 59-year-old ran a big highschool for some 500 college students.
But in early June the Russian occupiers instructed him to start out educating the Russian curriculum. When he refused, they threw him in jail.
“Children need to feel like they’re still in Ukraine, that we haven’t abandoned them, that they live there,” he mentioned.
“That’s important (to you)?” I requested.
Seized with emotion, Professor Serdyuk was unable to talk.
We met the educator in a group referred to as Millstreet in Country Cork. They’ve been dwelling in an equestrian centre, transformed into lodging for 300 refugees by the Irish authorities.
But the state of Nova Kakhovka’s school, with its college students and lecturers, is at all times of their ideas as Ukrainian forces attempt to win again the Kherson area.
The Ukrainian curriculum has been outlawed within the metropolis and people who train it, accomplish that at nice threat.
“I just talked to (our staff),” mentioned Professor Serdyuk.
“They’re having searches there, looking for teachers, because the Russians want to enslave our country completely. It’s hard, hard for the teachers and hard for the kids.”
The facility has been badly broken. The home windows have been smashed and a few lecture rooms have been destroyed.
But the professor continues to be operating it from a tearoom in Millstreet, near the equestrian centre the place he lives.
Hiding educating materials from the Russians
He makes use of laptop programmes akin to Google Classroom to assign workers and organise classes however direct contact is difficult.
We watched him as he tried to talk to a pupil within the cookery programme.
“Hello, hello,” he mentioned, furiously tapping at his telephone. “A question, a question,” he continued when the 16-year-old replied.
“I can’t hear very well,” she mentioned.
“Is there fighting, is there shooting right now?” the professor replied.
“Yes, I can hear fighting. There is shooting, there are hits.”
“Are you going to study?” he requested.
“Yes I’m going to study.”
“You’re studying – good for you, good for you, it’s going to be okay.”
His pupil despatched us a video as she did her task.
She can’t use the faculty amenities so labored up a dish at house. We have stored her id hidden as the faculty now operates in secret.
Professor Serdyuk was given two weeks in jail when he refused to cooperate with Russian directors.
They launched him when he agreed to take a Russian passport – however the 59-year-old used the doc to flee.
He says he’ll return when the enemy is defeated.
“We hid most of the teaching material. We hid all the basic documents, too. They’re still there,” he mentioned. “The Russians are trying to find them. But the documents are in the right place.”
Igor Serdyuk laughed at this as he considered the long run.
He instructed us he was speculated to retire this 12 months however an extended spell of rest is one thing that can merely have to attend.
Source: information.sky.com”