This article was brought on the Danish website hojskolerne.dk in March. It has now been translated.
By Mette Skov Hansen
In the beginning of February Daria Polishchuk was approached by the principal at Brenderup Højskole. He wanted to hear if she and another volunteer at the school would give a brief presentation on the situation in Ukraine to all the teachers and students at the Danish folk high school.
At the time you could read in the media about the increasing tension between Russia and Ukraine and about how more international leaders warned that Russia was arming itself for war.
Personally, I didn’t think the Russians would attack. I hoped that Putin wasn’t as crazy as he turned out to be.
Daria Polishchuk, Brenderup Højskole.
Both Daria Polishchuk and the other volunteer were from Ukraine, and they said yes to talk about how they experienced the conflict.
”I believe it was in relation to that presentation that it truly occurred to me how serious the situation was. That there were about 140.000 Russian soldiers right at the border of our homeland. I got really scared actually. But personally, I didn’t think the Russians would attack. I hoped Putin wasn’t as crazy as he turned out to be,” 29-year-old Daria Polishchuk says.
My life is paused
For the moment, Daria Polishchuk is in Prague. Here she stays with her boyfriend who lives in the town and with her sister and nephew who she helped fleeing from Ukraine a few days ago.
It seems wrong and unfair just to continue life as before. Sometimes I try to think of something else. But after half an hour I am back again at watching the news.
Daria Polishchuk, Brenderup Højskole
”It’s a strange time to live in, and I feel that my life is paused. It seems wrong and unfair just to continue life as before. Sometimes I try to think of something else. But after half an hour I am back again at watching the news. The first thing I do when I wake up is to check the news. Last night, for example, there was an explosion in the western part of Ukraine, and that is where my parents are right now,” she says.
Daria Polishchuk should was meant to stay at Brenderup Højskole until August 2022, and right now she is trying to find out when she is ready to return to the folk high school. In the meantime, she works as a volunteer in a Czech refugee organization.
“It is difficult to find out what is the best thing to do. Should I return to the folk high school and help there, or should I stay and help my sister or others here? Everyday refugees are coming from the borders of Poland or Slovakia to Prague by train, and when I was at the central station on Tuesday there were thousands of people. It is a horrible situation,” she says.
A much needed stay at a folk high school
Daria Polishchuk comes from a town 140 kilometers west of Kyiv but has lived abroad for the past eight years. She has studied Scandinavian languages at the university and has recently been an exchange student and at a folk high school in Sweden.
When the corona-pandemic began, she was in Prague, and after a year and a half working from home, she needed to get out. Therefore, she signed up for the EU-programme European Solidarity Corps and came to Brenderup Højskole in September 2021.
There are many wonderful people and many things to do. It is very difficult to get bored. You feel like you are part of a community.
Daria Polishchuk, Brenderup Højskole.
Here she helps in the garden, teaches yoga and takes Sunday shifts.
“It was just what I needed after two years in an apartment in Prague. Here I am close to nature, the beach and the forest. There are many wonderful people and many things to do. It is very difficult to get bored. You feel like you are part of a community,” Daria Polishchuk says in Danish which she speaks fluently.
Need to get away
While Daria Polishchuk was on the Danish folk high school the situation between Russia and Ukraine got worse. And on Thursday the 24th of February she woke up to a stream of messages on her phone about the Russian attack on her home country: “So sorry for Ukraine”. “I hope you are okay”. “How is your family?”
I felt very powerless, and it was too difficult to continue the everyday life at the folk high school. A folk high school is a place filled with life and joy.
Daria Polishchuk, Brenderup Højskole
The day was spent reading news. There were explosions in many places in Ukraine including in Darias Polishchuk’s hometown. She was allowed to take time off, and with the other volunteer from Ukraine she went to demonstrations in Copenhagen.
After a few days they both decided that they needed some time away from the folk high school.
“I felt very powerless, and it was too difficult to continue the everyday life at the folk high school. A folk high school is a place filled with life and joy It was hard being there when everybody else continued to live their lives,” she says.
Interpreter for Ukrainian refugees at a folk high school
Right now, Daria Polishchuk is considering whether it’s time to return to the folk high school.
“They have begun accepting refugees at Brenderup Højskole, and they can use my help interpreting. So, if I return, I can still do something for Ukraine, and that I believe will feel meaningful,” she says.
I am actually a bit surprised by the great commitment. And grateful.
Daria Polishchuk, Brenderup Højskole.
She thinks it is wonderful with the effort from the Danish folk high school.
“I am actually a bit surprised by the great commitment. And grateful. But I can also wonder how it will work out in the long run. The young people who go to folk high schools come to learn something new, have fun and enjoy life. And then twenty refugees from Ukraine arrive and might stay at the school for months. But it is exciting that the folk high school will do it,” she says and adds that furthermore she is looking forward to see how the Ukrainian refugees will experience Danish culture.
“It will be exciting to hear how they feel about being in Denmark where the culture is very different. I am also excited to hear how they experience the folk high school,” she says.