Five of the twenty-four Jamaican students who walked miles from war torn Ukraine and across the border into Poland, have told Nationwide News of their horrific experience.
The student say they are still in survival mode.
In an exclusive interview with Nationwide News yesterday, the students said they’re happy to be alive.
They said the sounds of explosives from the conflict will resonate with them for a long time.
Tasheeva Clayton, Georden Shaw, Dissandra Daley, Ann Williams and Ceejay McCalla were the students who spoke with our news center.
Hykel Nunes has more in this report.
The students arrived at the border late Sunday night after walking for some 20-kilometres in freezing conditions.
Tasheeva Clayton said she is traumatised.
When asked about her most terrifying experience, Clayton said there were several.
And Georden Shaw said she struggled to make an escape from her home, which was quickly becoming a battlefield.
She said she felt exposed.
Shaw said she had to try several hotlines before eventually getting a taxi.
The students are currently in Poland with Jamaica’s chargés d’affaires to Germany Denise Sealy who received them upon their arrival at the border.
Plans are now underway to secure flights back home for the students, most of whom who were in Ukraine studying medicine.
Meanwhile Dissandra Daley is lauding some Ukrainians, who assisted the Jamaicans on their journey to Poland.
Dissandra Daley.
Another student Ceejay McCalla says there were more women in the group than men.
Ceejay McCalla.
And a student who spoke to our news center previously, Ann Williams, says she thought they had sufficient time to escape.
However, she says she was wrong.
Ann Williams.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, says the PNP has secured a group of psychiatrists to provide counseling services to the Jamaican students who have been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Twenty-four students have so far managed to successfully cross the border into Poland.
However, four remain in the war torn country.
Golding says the team of six includes volunteers from the Jamaica Psychiatric and Jamaica Psychological Associations, and is headed by Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr. Winston De La Haye.
The party president says Dr. De La Haye, who studied in Hungary, has knowledge of the territorial, political and social conditions in that region, and can offer therapy with an understanding of the context.
He says Dr. De La Haye still maintains relations with professionals in the region, and is willing to leverage those relationships to the advantage of the students.
Golding says he has already connected Dr. De La Haye with the students he’s in contact with, and is using this medium to extend the offer to all affected students.
Golding says while they seek to ensure that the students are physically out of harm’s way, their mental wellbeing must also be of great importance
He expressed gratitude to Dr. De La Haye and his team who agreed to provide their services at no cost to the students.
Abigail Bartley contributed to this report.
