A Florida-based Jamaican organization has stepped up to assist the 24 Jamaican students forced to flee Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia.
Jamaican Men of Florida (JMOF) has announced that it will underwrite the Jamaican government’s loan to the students or provide the necessary tickets to get them home to Jamaica.
The announcement comes amid backlash that the Jamaican government offered the medical students travel loans to leave the country. Jamaican Men of Florida President Dr. Rupert Francis said the students should not have had the added burden of having to secure a loan to leave the war-torn country.
“The safety of the students should be first and foremost. Getting them out of Ukraine must be the highest priority. And, they should not have to deal with getting loans to be able to get home. Loans to which they do not have full details about repayment and interest rates to be charged,” he said.
Dr. Francis pointed to the fact that several countries worldwide are offering to get foreign nationals and Ukrainians out as a matter of priority. He said that the Jamaican government should seek to have the students travel freely.
“The number one priority of any government is the safety of its citizens. Especially in this instance, the students are caught in a situation not of their making. Therefore the government’s prime focus should be to get them out safely,” he said.
After much criticism on social media from Jamaicans at home and across the diaspora, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith had later announced that the government would be absorbing the travel costs for the students.
Senator Johnson Smith explained that the government would underwrite all the students’ transportation and accommodation costs until they arrive in Jamaica. “There is no loan involved,” she said while adding that Jamaica was working with contacts in Ukraine and Poland to ensure that all the arrangements were made.
People’s National Party President Mark Golding also announced that the party established a U.S. $10,000 emergency fund for students in Ukraine. Golding said he also made a personal donation to help the students and secured the commitment of a group of psychiatrists to provide counseling services to students.
With tensions heightened in Ukraine, the students had to flee the country by traveling to the Polish border. One of the students, who routinely gave updates on social media, said the usual nine-hour walk to the border was cut short by Ukrainian citizens who offered the group rides.
Upon arrival at the border on Sunday night, the Jamaican government and the Chargé d’ Affaires, Deniese Sealey, made arrangements for the students to travel in a heated bus to a hotel in Poland. The students were also provided with subsistence to purchase personal items.
With flights now booked for the group of students to return home, Minister Johnson-Smith said the government is currently exploring opportunities for them to continue their education. She noted that some of the students had been initially hesitant to leave because they were concerned about their studies.
“As you know, most of them were hesitant to leave because they were worried about their studies. We had engaged UWI early in this process, we’ll re-engage them to see if there is any possibility at all of accommodation, and we’ll also reach out to our bilateral partners to see if they have any programs in place which will be seeking to accommodate the students who have been disrupted from their students in Ukraine,” she said in a video message posted to social media on Monday night.
#UPDATE11 Sharing current status, the efforts that continue and are to come as we seek to support the safe return of our students from these challenging experience. Please keep them and the people of the Ukraine in your prayers! ???????? pic.twitter.com/HAFddxg8iD
— Hon. Kamina J Smith (@kaminajsmith) March 1, 2022
According to the Associated Press, more than a half-million people have fled the country since the Russian invasion. The U.N. believes up to 4 million refugees could leave Ukraine if the war deteriorates further. The U.N. human rights office said on Tuesday that it had recorded the deaths of 136 civilians, including 13 children. The actual toll is likely far higher.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said four Jamaican students did not accompany the group to Poland — two are still in a part of Ukraine believed to be more secure. Another traveled to Romania and will receive assistance from Jamaican contacts. A fourth student is still in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where many bombings have taken place.
