Interview 25. Symbols of Invincibility – from people to the state. Liudmyla Tabolina
Walking 11 km to and from work, feeling like an open target, gathering colleagues and students from all over the world – this is the reality of Liudmyla Tabolina, a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature, director of Kharkiv School No.10.
Liudmyla says that during the war the school became a real community center, providing many local residents with shelter from endless shelling, humanitarian aid, and the opportunity to save their families.
In her opinion, the experience of resilience that Ukrainians have now acquired should be analyzed and shared so that it can be used in the future.
The main lessons
The world is very fragile. Our security has crumbled – peaceful sleep, the road to school and to work, the possibility of getting in touch quickly with relatives and friends.
Sometimes, the situation gets out of control. We are used to controlling everything, but the current situation does not allow us to do so. The events overwhelm us, knocking us out of our comfort zone.
Press the Escape button
I felt like a target every day. Before transport started running in Kharkiv, I walked to work and imagined that I had a target painted on my back. I felt that I was being hunted with all kinds of weapons. I was even afraid to put on my headphones and turn on my favourite music because I was afraid of losing control.
In the first weeks, my brain refused to understand what was happening. In psychology, this state is called depersonalization: when a person wants to get rid of the negative that surrounds him and considers reality a dream or a game. For me, war is associated with a stupid computer game: we could wake up or press the Escape button, and this schizophrenic running around at complex levels would finally end. This thought kept running through my head: “I’ll get out of it; I’ll survive – and everything will return to normal, the way it was before February 24.” But, the game continues, and its levels become worse, more dangerous, and more complex. It’s frightening.
Lust for life
My 11km trip to work lasted two hours under fire. I considered it normal and did not think it was such a big deal.. But, I am proud of my stability, indomitability, and thirst for life, which overcomes all pains, troubles, and problems. I didn’t think that I could be so strong. The lust for life conquers all.
I think that our deeds and actions during the war should make us proud. We have been resisting for so many days, not giving up and not panicking.
I get goose bumps when I think of the support I’ve received from the education community. Acquaintances and colleagues offered all kinds of help: things, money, and some people even wanted to give keys to apartments where I could take shelter. Dozens of people from different regions of Ukraine wrote to me.
This thought kept running through my head: “I’ll get out of it; I’ll survive – and everything will return to normal, like it was before February 24.” But, the game continues, and its levels become worse, more dangerous, and more complex. It’s frightening.
The way to safety
In March, Kharkiv schools stopped working. I refused to sit idle and lose my mind, so I asked my colleagues to find some volunteer work that I could do without leaving home. I found a good occupation: I worked with the Free and Caring Fund. We took people out of dangerous occupation zones and helped them reach European countries. Part of the team looked for donors, while other volunteers and I worked online. My phone number is probably available all over Ukraine.
According to the Fund’s calculations, they have facilitated the evacuation of more than 2,500 people since March. I personally worked with people from the city of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kharkiv Regions. In particular, we transported people from long-suffering Saltivka, and we also took care of our students’ families. I have kept the phone messages from families who survived, left their homes, and found safety. I keep these words of gratitude and good wishes for health, and re-read them in moments when sadness envelops me. Volunteering is a worthy act, which my colleagues and I became a part of within the framework of the Fund.
Educational Front
Russian troops continue to systematically destroy educational institutions in Kharkiv and the region. Almost every day, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration reports about the destruction to schools. According to Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, it is impossible to restore face-to-face education courses. Due to constant shelling, destruction, and an insufficient number of shelters, it is impossible to guarantee the children’s safety. Therefore, the Kharkiv regional authorities announced in advance that the new academic year will take place online.
In order to help Ukrainian educators to continue teaching children during the war, the EdCamp Ukraine community launched a crowdfunding campaign — collecting funds for computer equipment and Internet access for the teachers who lost their pedagogical equipment in the war. The funds will be used for psychological support for teachers and to organize conferences where they can share their pedagogical experiences during the war. Both foreign colleagues – on the GoFundMe platform, and Ukrainians – on the EdCamp Ukraine page, can join the campaign by adding the comment My War. Lessons to the payment.
Delicious buns from the shelter
Our school became a community center from the first day of the war. We opened the bomb shelter in the basement and brought mats, chairs, tables – everything that was available so that people could spend the night and stay there for a long time. The shelter housed the most people in March-April, because nearby buildings were destroyed, and locals began arriving in the shelters in their ordinary clothes.
Since the first days of March, we have been handing out humanitarian aid every day. Thanks to the local government, the district administration, our caring compatriots from western Ukraine, and the assistance of other countries, we could distribute this aid for free.
My colleagues and I also took some school desks up to the first floor and distributed clothes, shoes, diapers, and hygiene items to anyone in need – all these things were supplied by volunteers.
We also opened our school canteen, and people were able to cook meals for themselves. I was treated to delicious buns made from whatever was available. Numerous Kharkiv restaurants provided hot meals to the people in the shelter.
On April 1, we organized work teams for all the people who were willing to help out. This is how we united all the participants in the educational process. We trimmed trees, raked debris, fed birds, swept yards and paths, and planted flowers. We did this for ourselves and for our community.
There were days when the school was empty: no teachers, no children, and sometimes no one to talk to. But, at the same time, the school kept functioning. All local residents know about us and make requests – for example, find medicine, fill out a form for targeted assistance, or get a job somewhere. We try to help out as much as possible.
Self-development in times of war
No matter how strange it may sound, self-development has become a great source of strength. We are still required to cover all sources of light in Kharkiv, and when it got dark early in winter and spring, I couldn’t turn on the TV or computer because they lit up the room.
Imagine: long evenings, the lights are off; it’s dark outside, and you can’t even read a book.
So, I signed up for various online courses on my phone.. That’s how I distracted myself. I even collect course certificates, because the dates show how and when it happened. When the campaign to support Ukrainian business began, I paid for my certificates.
Reading is another source of inspiration. During this period of war, I have read many books that I downloaded to my phone.
My third source of strength is my work. When you work and help people, it distracts and inspires. There is no time to panic. pity yourself or cry.
Imagine: long evenings, the lights are off, it’s dark outside, and you can’t even read a book.
We are indomitable
I am from Kharkiv, which is called a reinforced concrete city. If I were to hold an EdCamp (non)conference, I would choose the theme of indomitability – of people, of teams, of the school as an organization and a humanitarian hub, and the indomitability of the city and the state.
I feel that Ukrainian schools have moved to a higher level and become natural community centers. I would like to trace and record our indomitable spirit at all levels – from the people to the state. It would be useful to discuss what helps us to stand together and not give up, what resources are available for this, where this resilience comes from, and what it generates.
Resilient educators
I would like to go to the city of Chornozemne near Melitopol, which is currently occupied.
Because I’ve been there only once, but I know for sure that Chornozemne is Ukraine, and many wonderful colleagues live there. Communicating with my colleagues, harmonizing with nature, and ensuring professional development at EdCamp events in Chornozemne means a lot to me.
Today, I can walk or drive to my school, but my colleagues in Chornozemne cannot do this. There is a photo where they quietly approach their school and secretly take pictures. Our educators are currently under extreme pressure in Chornozemne – and despite everything, they refuse to work with the russist authorities.
Do not lose the children!
On February 23, I had Ukrainian language and literature lessons in the fifth grade.
We looked at Oleksandr Oles’ poem – Yaroslav Mudryi (the Wise) – and talked about what kind of person he was, what kind of politician and commander, and what reforms he introduced. I gave the children their homework for February 25 and we said goodbye. Unfortunately, we did not see each other in person again. In that lesson, I took a photo of the blackboard in the classroom – that is my last photo of a peaceful classroom.
On February 24, I came to work an hour earlier, and part of the team that lived near the school joined me. We began “fortifying” the institution: we closed the windows and offices. We hid all essential documents, because we were terrified that all personal data would fall into the hands of the occupiers. At the same time, we started working on equipping the bomb shelter.
Classes were officially suspended until April 11; but, on April 1, we contacted the children on a volunteer basis, held meetings and consultations on various subjects, and supported the children as best we could.
We noticed that the children who had previously been hard to motivate were more and more willing to talk and communicate. Our students really needed this. Therefore, the educational process did not stop. We conducted online lessons, various promotions, the “last bell” (graduation ceremony), and we even danced the waltz. It helped us not to lose our children, and they did not lose us.
Adapting to different situations
During the war, we were all in different situations: children went online from basements, subways, apartments, and cellars. Some colleagues went abroad with only their phone, and could not thoroughly conduct lessons. Some people who lived in places of intense shelling had no electricity for 8-9 days and could not even charge their gadgets. But, the children and teachers made up for everything.
We supported each other, and no one complained; instead, we looked for more convenient options for everyone.
Teaching was in asynchronous mode, which saved us. Even the time difference between Ireland, Georgia, Austria, and Ukraine was noticeable. Many children went to local schools in the countries or regions where they were residing, but at the same time, they wanted to be in touch with the teachers. Sometimes, we studied on weekends. One teacher prepared her 11th graders for a history test, and they agreed to meet every day at 1 p.m. The school, the children, and the parents did their best to make the educational process productive, useful, and, most importantly, safe.
Some people lived in places of intense shelling, had no electricity for 8-9 days, and could not even charge their gadgets.
Laughter through tears
According to our observations, our children were eager to learn. They attended class with joy and were very happy to see their teachers safe and sound, to hear their voices. There were many painful moments during the lessons when some children became very emotional and started crying together with the teachers.
It was impossible to see each other in person and simply hug; we all missed this. Therefore, we tried to psychologically support and distract the children. We did not assign homework; support and sympathy were the most important factors.
Our children’s voices and eyes often expressed joy. But, anxiety, pain, and longing were hidden behind it; children laughed through tears. We are all traumatized psychologically and morally. We will have to work a lot, I think, not only with the children but also with the teachers and parents.
The experience of resilience
We are not silent; we tell the world what is happening so that Ukraine does not become just another byline in the news feed. I have had several online lessons with Portuguese colleagues from the island of Madeira. I talked about Kharkiv, school, Ukraine, and the war. The children of the local Jaime Moniz Lyceum organized a flash mob and walked around the capital of Madeira, the city of Funchal, with our flags. They planted two trees in their school yard, which they named Hope and Peace – one in honor of Madeira and the other dedicated to Kharkiv. I also had online meetings with representatives of the Portuguese education system.
I told my colleagues abroad about our school and our brave people, indomitable Kharkiv, which stood and stands today, even though the enemy has been shelling the city since the first day of the war. I spoke about the resilience, courage, and strength of Ukrainian women and men. Nowadays, these are not just empathy words, but our daily reality.
The interview series My War. Lessons was prepared with financial support from the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation – a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Ed Camp Ukraine and the Foundation.
