Twenty Ukrainian children aged seven to thirteen went back to school in Beverwijk for the first time since their flight. After a festive opening, they cheerfully entered the classroom. If everything goes according to plan, they will have learned enough Dutch within a year to move on to regular education.
It would be nicer if the situation in their country improves to such an extent that they can return to Ukraine. But that prospect is not there yet. “And so we do everything we can to make their lives here as pleasant and meaningful as possible,” says Lyke Seriese, director of Het Ranket & De Fakkel, the primary school that takes care of the children.
Trauma
Despite a shortage of teaching staff, she has managed to recruit teachers who are familiar with the language and background of the Ukrainian children. That’s necessary. Seriese: “These are children with trauma, because they have experienced a war and fled. Even if they have not experienced it themselves because they may have left before, they have experienced the fear of their parents. And then they are there are also the relatives who are left behind.”
In this class, the children will have the opportunity to process the trauma in a playful way, Seriese says.
Pie
But first it’s time this morning for a piece of cake and a glass of lemonade. The children look a bit out of the tree. The new start is clearly getting used to after being at home for months. “That took way too long,” says Elina, one of the mothers. “It’s high time they made friends with their peers again, that there is a bit of structure in their lives again.”
Despite the lack of family and friends in Ukraine, Elina seems to have found her niche, just like her children. Still, she wants to return as soon as possible. “If it is possible, so if our house is still there, we would like to go back as soon as possible.”