Supporting Ukraine by Nicolette Havlova
Nicolette Havlova is a BA (Hons) Marketing student at the University of Liverpool. Here, Nicolette gives a personal account of her remarkable role in delivering aid to Ukraine:
My name’s Nicolette and I’m a Czech UoL student and I have spent ten days helping in Ukraine.
On Thursday 24 February, the war in Ukraine began. As a Czech student, I felt this situation closer to home than many of my peers in Liverpool. The day after the Russians invaded, I travelled back to the Czech Republic, setting up a collection point for material aid under an initiative called 'railway helps', set up by one of my very good friends who owns a private train.
More and more collection points are being set up all around Czechia, from which several tonnes of aid are gradually being taken to the railway station and onto Ukraine. Absolutely everyone is involved, I am surrounded by hope and feel a universal wave of solidarity. I board the train with a bulletproof vest strapped to my backpack, heading for the city of Chop, Ukraine.
I open the window of the train and stare into the eyes of teenage boys in military uniforms with guns on their backs. We unload the material aid onto the platform and then transfer it to vans that then deliver everything to the affected areas. Once the aid is unloaded, hundreds of people board our train, mostly mothers with children – as men aged 18-60 must enlist. We take these boarded people to the safety of Czechia and provide them with accommodation if necessary. I see sadness all around me. These women are leaving behind not only their homes, but also their beloved husbands, fathers, sons.
We left the established line at Chop and headed to Mostyska in Ukraine. However, this railway connection is not easy, with bureaucracy making everything more complicated. We managed to bring many wagons of medical supplies to Mostyska, but we can’t bring any civilians back to Czechia as for some reason our train has been registered as a freight train so we couldn’t take any people. I felt further despair that we had no leverage in this situation. We left, leaving behind a platform full of freezing children who need our help. We're not giving up. The train will run again in the coming days and this time we’re hopeful for success.
Unfortunately for me, I have to get back to my studies, and so after many days of helping and almost no sleep, I am trying to get back involved in student life. However, I feel that it is all in vain. I try to convince myself that each of us is helping as much as we can and that we need to appreciate and truly live our everyday ordinary lives, because that is exactly what they are fighting for in Ukraine right now.
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The University of Liverpool is deeply concerned about the current crisis in Ukraine and our thoughts are with everyone who is impacted.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office currently advises against all travel to Ukraine. We know that people across our University community are deeply concerned about what is happening in Ukraine, and we have listed some ways you can help and support Ukrainian people here.
We know that the situation is having a real impact on some of our students and we want to remind you of the practical assistance and support available. Please click here to find out more here.