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From war torn Ukraine to north east Victoria - GOTAFE students highlighted at refugee week
Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE student Maryna Sliusar moved to Australia from Ukraine in May 2022 with her son, just months after Russia invaded.
Speaking at GOTAFE's refugee week student event in June, Maryna shared her journey to finding safety and how education is shaping her future.
"This full-scale Russian invasion has divided our lives into before and after," Maryna said.
"My son and I are trying to rebuild our lives from scratch. In Ukraine we practically lost everything except faith in ourselves and our strength."
Maryna is currently studying Certificate II in English as an Additional Language at GOTAFE, which will support her in developing her English language skills.
"I study... at GOTAFE to enhance my skill set in Occupational Health and Safety and to be useful to this country," Maryna said.
At the Refugee Week event, she spoke about how she came to arrive in Australia as a refugee, recounting her first experience in a bomb shelter.
"I gathered documents, money, medicine, and everything necessary in case we needed to evacuate quickly," Maryna said.
"When we arrived at the bomb shelter, there was no light or heat."
More than 15 families came to the bomb shelter that night, and on the second day, there were even more people.
"There were constant alarms, planes dropping bombs. Once the alarm started, we had about five to eight minutes to run to the bomb shelter," she said.
A few weeks into the war, Maryna began her journey to Australia on March 5, 2022.
"My son and I left for western Ukraine with only one backpack of things each," she said.
"We hoped that the war would end quickly and we would return to normal everyday life.
“Everything was like being in a fog for us; we did not understand what would happen next.
“There were many questions to which I could not find answers, but I knew one thing - I had to take my son to a safe place."
Maryna said she had always valued education and has been supported by GOTAFE in more ways than one.
"I like to learn, especially since my profession involves constant self-development and improvement," she said.
"I needed understanding, acceptance, and psychological relief.
“My teachers Chrishanthi and Minky helped me with this. I am very grateful to them and to all GOTAFE employees."
Refugee Week provides an opportunity for the community to build empathy for, and understanding of, refugees and to educate others about why they have come to Australia.
It is also a great opportunity to celebrate the contributions of our refugee community members and focus on how we can work together to provide a safe and welcoming environment.