GOTAFE Refugee Week highlights Student from Ukraine – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

Maryna Sliusar moved to Australia from Ukraine in May 2022 with her son, fleeing the war with Russia.

Speaking at GOTAFE’s Refugee Week student event on Tuesday, June 20, Ms Sliusar shared her journey to finding safety and how education was shaping her future.

“This full-scale Russian invasion has divided our lives into before and after,” Ms Sliusar said.

Ms Sliusar 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,” she 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 the bomb shelter,” Ms Sliusar said.

A few weeks into the war, on March 5, 2022, Ms Sliusar began her journey to Australia. “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.”

“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.”

She said she had always valued education and had 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.”

Refugee Week provides an opportunity to build empathy for and understanding of refugees, and for refugees to educate others about why they have come to Australia. It is also an 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.

For more information about Refugee Week, head to the Refugee Council of Australia at https://refugeeweek.org.au/about

Maryna Sliusar at GOTAFE — Ms Sliusar 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,” she said. “When we arrived at the bomb shelter, there was no light or heat.”

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	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.