For many people in Nijmegen, war is a distant issue. But not for Anastasia Yuchynska (21), a creative industries student. She fled Ukraine in 2022 after spending two weeks in a bomb shelter. Now she helps asylum seekers find their way around university campus.

‘My parents were not in Ukraine when the bombings began on February 24, 2022. They run a kitesurfing school in Egypt. I was alone in Kyiv at the time, where I was supposed to present a paper. After the first bombardment, I spent two weeks in a bomb shelter. My mother told me over the phone: take the first train out of the country, to anywhere abroad. So I did. I spent more than 36 hours in a train carriage that moved very slowly, because the Russians were also bombing the railway.

When we arrived at the Romanian border, I thought: now I’m safe. I still remember looking back at my country and bursting into tears. I was raised to be patriotic—I love Ukraine very much. Eventually, I continued on to Bucharest. By the time I arrived, I was completely exhausted. I was only seventeen, had lost a lot of weight, and hadn’t slept for days. I finished high school at an international school in Bucharest. After that, I moved with my family to Düsseldorf. The nearest university was Radboud University, and that’s how I ended up in Nijmegen.’

Air Raid Siren

‘During my introduction week, the air raid siren went off at noon on Monday. I thought: not again! No one had told me that in the Netherlands, this alarm sounds on the first Monday of every month. I can still be startled by helicopters or fireworks. Last New Year’s Eve, someone threw firecrackers into a trash bin near my student housing. When it went off, I had a panic attack. I collapsed to the ground and my whole body was shaking.

I know what it means to be a war refugee. That’s why I’m so happy with my job as coordinator of Radboud Welcomes Newcomers, a program for asylum seekers in this region. I warn my students about helicopters, but also about F-16 fighter jets flying overhead on their way to Volkel. The program we offer is meant for refugees who want to study. They can take courses for a semester, learn Dutch, join activities, and get to know the Dutch education system. I help them with everything.

When it snowed so much this winter, they had a hard time. The buses weren’t running, they didn’t know how to get to the university. It was raining phone calls all day long. With this work, I can really help people on their way in life, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction. For me, it also feels like I can give something back – there are so many people who helped during my flight.’