On Thursday, 60,000 children went back to school. On Friday and Monday, the summer holidays will come to an end for another 50,000 secondary school students. Among them are a number of children and teenagers who had to flee Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Between 1,200 and 1,300 Ukrainian refugee children will be attending school in Luxembourg this year, says Kateryna Fomenko of the LUkraine association, about the same number as before the summer.
“Some families returned to Ukraine during the summer, but not that many,” Fomenko explained. Many families only went for a few weeks, often so that the children could see their father, before returning to Luxembourg for the start of the new school year. According to Fomenko, going to school in Ukraine would be difficult because only schools with bomb shelters are open. And, as soon as there is an alert, everyone is required to head to the shelters, which means that classes are constantly interrupted. “Therefore, if parents have the option to stay here during the school year, they do,” Fomenko stated.
Fomenko says that the feedback she receives from parents is generally “very good” and that children are enjoying attending school in the Grand Duchy.
Alexandra Ananyeva has been in Luxembourg with her children since April. She is happy to have found a flat in Mamer, where she was previously staying with a host family. The children will therefore be able to return to the same school. Her husband is still in Kyiv.
“Of course, the children are homesick, they miss their city, their father, our life there. Because we had a very happy life. I am very grateful that they are strong enough to understand that there are hard times and misery that you have to overcome,” Ananyeva explained.
