The tension between Ukraine and Russia remains, although there seems to be a de-escalation decision, but it does not convince everyone. In the middle of this scenario are the Ecuadorians who live in the Ukraine and who affirm that things are relatively normal in their day to day life.
One of them is Melissa Montesdeoca, 19, who is in Sumy, in the north of Ukraine, where she is studying Philology at Sumdu University.
“Yes, I’m honest, if my family and friends from Ecuador didn’t start asking me about the alleged war between Russia and Ukraine, I wouldn’t know anything about it, because everyday life hasn’t been lost here and nothing has changed since last year. I arrived”, says Montesdeoca, who adds that Sumy is a relatively small city considering the extension of Ukraine, and is approximately two hours from Russia.
Alejandra Facto, 26, is another Ecuadorian who has lived in Ukraine for six years. She is in Lviv (Lviv), near the border with Poland. She comments that she also lives normally and that it is from the outside that the matter becomes bigger.
“We continue to do our thing at the university, at work, even the Ukrainians are super calm because it is not how people see it from the outside,” says this medical student who has really liked the country’s culture, security, how cheap it is to study and the possibilities of traveling and discovering new things, as well as making friends from various parts of the world.
Javier Donoso is another Ecuadorian, from Quito, who has lived in Kiev for 14 years and for 10 years has been working as a representative and tutor for students from Latin America who are going to do undergraduate or postgraduate studies in Ukraine, especially in medicine and technical careers such as electronics. , mechanics and aeronautics.
Donoso comments that since 2014 they have lived with the issue of war and that now there is interest in the threats from Russia, but that people continue with their daily lives, quietly going to the supermarket or to work, and that there is a lot of misinformation about what What happens inside Ukraine? “Life is the same, nothing has changed (with the current tensions),” he says.
In Facebook groups such as Ecuadorian Students in Ukraine, it was possible to observe how there were people asking about the situation, including parents consulting to anticipate any action, something to which the members responded that things were still calm internally.
Meanwhile, Danny Martínez has two children currently studying in the Ukraine, his 20-year-old daughter in aviation engineering, in Kiev, and his 18-year-old son in sports management, in Vinnytsia. He and his wife were able to contact them and from there they were told that things were fine, sometimes with peaceful demonstrations, and that the only thing that was difficult for him was that there were virtual classes while there, but that was more due to the pandemic. .
“Many people take it lightly because those sectors (of Ukraine) have always been in trouble since 2014,” says Martínez, who also comments that media information, depending on the origin, is sometimes inaccurate. However, he has decided that it is better that they return for a while, although his daughter, who has already completed half of the course, wants to wait even longer and affirms that everything is calm there. In addition there are problems with the frequencies of the flights.
Martínez also criticizes the actions of the Foreign Ministry because although they organized a meeting and they have spoken, nothing concrete has been left. He even says he got a message saying “Mr. Estrella, his son is fine” in Ukraine, that is, they don’t have good information.
“We have friends from all countries, from the United Kingdom, the United States, Nigeria, and they all have indications, some are even returning on humanitarian flights, but they have not told us anything from the consulate… (although) we had a (virtual) meeting, but they didn’t give any solution… they said we are here for you for whatever you need… and everyone in the chat said what the solution or support is… in reality they didn’t say anything”, says Facto.
According to the Foreign Ministry, there are approximately 550 Ecuadorian citizens registered in Ukraine and through the Embassy of Ecuador in Austria, concurrent with Ukraine, coordinates the collection of relevant information, such as the verification of valid passports and visas, for the activation of a contingency plan, in accordance with the state of the situation on Ukrainian territory. To provide help, they asked to call +43 676 897358700, write to consular@ecuadorvienna.at. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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