Natalia Rodriguez

Post #2- Ukraine Topic

I would say that my first observation was I certainly left this class session more politically and socially informed about the Ukrainian/Russian War at hand. To start on the groups, everyone did an amazing job in covering the grounds of the Ukrainian folks and their own perspectives. The snippets of the “realistic videos”, including the Ukrainian people giving their opinions on Putin, the war, and how they must fight for their home was heart felt. It was also surreal, as these are everyday people like you and I- faced with sudden strife and chaos. It was a sure reminder to not take life for granted, and to value the comforts we have here on American soil. 

Alongside being informed by the Ukrainian folks on their emotions, I was also informed on more statistical and factual matters- like how the housing market has shifted and been affected by the war. Along with shift in economics, it was enlightening but also frightening to hear about how people need to flee a place of memories and familiarity, for safety. Some of these countries, I learned are neighboring such as Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Unfortunately, even as refugees- supplies can be scarce. Luckily, European authorities are making the effort in supplying houses, hospitals, and school to these victims. 

It was mind boogling but not surprising to know that despite the call for a cease-fire among the citizens, Putin remains consistent in regime change through persistent violence. Due to the war, poverty and economic damage has caused recession, homelessness and over 2 million people falling under the poverty line. At this point, it is horrifyingly clear that the intention is to target infrastructure as well as depopulate innocent victims- such as the mentioned schools and hospitals. The inhumanity that is reflected by these actions really goes to show that history does repeat itself- even when it is not a collective choice! 

As it isn’t a collective choice, I have learned that many of the Ukrainian folks have hope in reintegrating themselves into their hometowns- as spoken of in the slides. Luckily, Ukraine has made effort to keep the national/social protection system afloat- by providing payment benefits. They also plan to create jobs on safe soil of Ukraine, such as government sponsored programs- to relocate “workers and enterprises”. This is one of the few facets that keeps society afloat, and it is reassuring to know that even in times of crisis- a country will unify to provide opportunity for their people. This is especially striking, considering the “4.8 million jobs” that have been lost at the hands of bloodshed, corruption, and destruction.

Aside from destruction, humanity still stands in the face of disaster. This can be reflected by the numerous agencies I learned about through the groups’ presentations and this wonderful class. Some include agencies that focus on children’s mental health- like a program called ‘Voices of Health’ which provides art therapy and mobile psychologists. Along with personally funded programs, there are government programs/agencies that have been applied and assigned to Ukrainian folks- such as UNHCR- which provides emergency assistance to family units- including cash assistance. As well as fundamental needs being covered- like water and food- through prevalent agencies like World Central Kitchen. As well as medical assistance such as international medical corps. 

All in all, this war reflects so many aspects of humanity. It paints the darkest and scariest sides of being forced into violence. However, it also depicts what humanity can do when they unify and focus on uplifting one another in unforeseen moments of strife and stress. Through agencies, programs, and the efforts to create jobs to sustain a society. It really shows to me the relentless nature of humanity and the strength of Ukrainian people in such trying times.

Yilian Sanchez

Presentation

This project was amazing, although I couldn't see the presentations of the other groups due to health problems, I'm sure they did and they enjoyed searching, reading, learning about the situation in Ukraine as much as I and my team.  This project not only made me more aware of the situation that can lead to a country at war and the things that can affect the economy, health, education, housing, increased poverty, but also made me connect with suffering and pain.  of the Ukrainian people seeing how from one day to the next they lost everything, their lives changed in an instant.  This project not only informed me, but also made me take action, motivating me to donate to help those people who are living the consequences of the war and motivate more people, for example, my parents, my friends and some acquaintances.  

The war brought with it material, physical and emotional problems, for example, the houses have been affected by the bombs, since these have made them no longer completely habitable, causing stress and anxiety in the town to find a safe place.  place to stay.  them and their relatives, also depression both in those who are inside and in other Ukrainians who are outside their country seeing how it falls apart from one day to the next and they without being able to do anything but pray so that more innocent people are not affected in this war, there are also other Ukrainians who took action and returned to their country to fight for it, which I see as an act of courage and love for their country.  

The war in Ukraine also increased the country's immigration system, Ukraine was once a popular country for emigrants and other countries, but the war has made it a dangerous country to travel to and make them emigrants to save their lives creating trauma in children as in adults.  , fears of leaving everything they know and starting a new life away from their family, friends, spreading them around the world and changing their customs to adapt to these other countries, making them victims of exploitation and abuse.  It also left sequels in the health system, turning it into a deficient system and leaving them without supplies and medicines to care for the wounded and sick from the war.  

Personally, I feel bad for those people who could not finish their careers, nor their goals, plans and saw their future interrupted, completely changing their plans and securities to turn them into a somewhat uncertain radical change, also for those little children who they were starting their education and are now dealing with a poor education system and shortage of supplies.  I could also see how millions and millions of people supported Ukraine and how large companies like Publix were present donating money, food for Ukraine, showing that they are on the side of the Ukrainian people.

Patricia Villazon Ukrania

           

 Ukraine War

This topic of Ukraine is a topic that touches me very strongly because I have a friend who lived in Ukraine with his Ukrainian wife and they had to flee when the war started because she was pregnant leaving everything behind in her life.As for the life of children in Ukraine and as such everyone who lives there does not deserve to be going through this situation. The situation of children with special needs is affected if they normally need care in this situation without the people who take care of them it is more difficult. No one deserves to go through this and no one is mentally prepared to experience something like this. There are many people who suffer being in this situation from children to the elderly to people like you and me because what is happening is inhumane, ending lives that did not ask to be in this situation. Hopefully one day all this aggressiveness in the world ends and that governments stop involving the people in their wars and absurd fights. I also have to say that it is very good to talk about the situation that is happening so that all of us who can support this country do so because no one deserves anything that they are going through. All the groups have exposed the realities that are currently happening in this country. Where nothing exists anymore because every day it is destroyed and people have had to emigrate from their country and many nearby countries have to receive Ukrainians who arrive in their country fleeing leaving behind their life story. Just thinking that they don't have medicine, that they don't have food, that they have to be sheltered for their own good so that nothing happens to them, that the children can't play, that they can't go out like that, breathe and lead their life as nonuse makes me very sad and Sometimes I start to think and we sometimes complain about simple things and seeing how others are worse off than us makes me very sad. Think of the elderly, it must also be hard to be in this situation because they do not have to go if it is not with their family. The noise of the bombs, the sirens, the children who had to leave their homes to serve their country. That what they should be doing is studying and not going through a war or simply doing youthful things like getting married, going out and living their lives healthily. And that these people will no longer do the same things they did because mentally, emotionally and even physically I no longer know. Hopefully everything ends and they can return or try to live their lives without wars or anything that has to do with the attempt on their lives. 

        In conclusion, many times for the bad decision of a president we pay the towns.

 

 

Valeria Colmenarez

 Blog 2 Ukraine 

In this second assignment my classmates and I had to do research in the following topics; War in Ukraine, Providing education in the weak of war and Health Care and Assistance for special needs in ukraine. These are three major topics that everyone should do research on due to the war that is going on. We should also educate ourselves in ways to help, which my classmates and I did the research on organizations that are helping the Ukraine community. In the following paragraph I will be talking about the information that my classmates have shared regarding their topic and my input in them, as well as mine. 

The first presentation approach the topic of the War in Ukraine, and they first mention what to do when your house is destroy, as of right now many places of Ukraine are still being attack, so is explain that never leave your house if there's actives attack motion near you; At the moment to leave the house is encourage to leave with the documents of the ownership of the property, as well to have them scan and upload in the cloud or to the Diia app which allows Ukrainian citizens to keep important documents legally digital instead of physical for essay access; Another solution is make copies and hide them in safe places, all of this useful when they are fighting for a lost. As of right now these are the countries that are accepting Ukranian refegge Poland, Romania, Republic of Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and belarus. The presentation also explains the financial problems that Ukraine would be facing and graphics are shown demonstrating that the war is adding to concern of a sharp global slowdown and surging inflation. 

For presentation 2 is explain how education is being provide in the war, In ukraine there is approximately 76,584 international students enrolled in Ukrainian universities, students are also having attacks harders time than others since some are in the middle of the attacks, in social media you can see students begging for help. My classmates also explain that that people are going back to online education, teachers are holding their classes through zoom and google meets, in this process students education is being enforce the learning of english due to immigrants of the ukrainian population, as an immigrant student I believe this is an amazing idea that it would be beneficiary for them in the future. 

My group talked about the healthcare system and how it is currently being handled. Nearly 80% of hospitals there have been fully destroyed in the conflict; those that are operational lack water, electricity,communications,and clinical staff—many of whom have been killed or displaced. Only 13.5% of all health centers are currently “fully functional,” knowing all this information is crucial to help Ukraine in this hard time to support all the Ukraine people, also Many autistic people with significant care requirements are stranded in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and are forced to evacuate with little or no help from their country or loved ones.

Roxana Hernandez

Reflection About Presentations

BY ROXANA HERNANDEZ

   On June 7th, our class did presentations regarding the Ukraine War. Every group had different themes. Amanda Martin was the first one to present in group 1, she started talking about houses and what should be done after homes have been destroyed. During the Ukraine war a lot of houses were destroyed leaving families without a place to sleep, these people needed to save their property's documents and find shelter somewhere else. She also told us how libraries in Ukraine are playing a vital role supporting these people, giving them housing, and keeping them safe. Countries like Poland, Romania, Republic of Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, and Belarus are accepting Ukrainian refugees. Their group also talked about how housing prices are higher in the US due to the war. Financial problems are also an issue in Ukraine, sanctions on Russia have forced its economy into a deep recession. The Ukraine’s economy has shrunk by almost half this year. Jobs have also been affected by this war; half of all Ukrainians have lost their jobs. Nomy Romero told us about the rebuilding after the war, even though they are still under attack. Proceeding to the next phase called the recovery where people start going back to normal, leaving this country with fewer disasters and a whole economy impact. The second presentation was about education during this devastating situation and how to deliver a message about the war. Expressing ourselves conveying emotion through expressions and tone of voice is fundamental, being spontaneous, professional, informative, and practiced is key. We should inform the audience of what is happening during the invasion and explaining why is important to the people hearing us. Then they switched topics and began discussing the status of international students in Ukraine, including how some students got shelter while others were forced to leave their country due to being blocked off from evacuation routes and are frantically seeking aid. Some of these students are producing videos demanding to be transported far away from the western borders. There have also been instances of international students dying, raising concerns that institutions are being targeted in terrorist attacks. This war is affecting the mental health of students, having a high level of psychological difficulties, this is causing trauma, leaving people with anxiety, emotional regulation, and impulse control. Countries are providing funds and financial assistance to Ukraine daily. In response to the war, European Member States have extended refugee aid, including shelters, job openings, and mental health care. Then our group presented. We were group 3 and we talked about the health care and assistance for special needs. The first person started talking about how ministry of Health manages Ukrainian healthcare, with all working citizens contributing to the cost. In theory, healthcare is given free of cost to all Ukrainian residents; but, in fact, the free treatments only cover the basics, and patients are sometimes compelled to pay for extras such as specialty equipment necessary during surgery and doctors and consultants frequently charge for their time. Almost 80% of the local hospitals have been completely damaged by the violence; those that are still operating require water, electricity, communication, and clinical personnel, many of whom have been murdered or relocated. Our second topic covered information about the special needs people and the war have been affecting them. We wanted to focus on the autism people, this part of the presentation was made by Yeny and me. Several autistic individuals with special needs are stuck in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and are obliged to flee with little or no assistance from their nation or loved ones, even though more autism support programs have developed in recent years, Ukraine has a limited number of them. Most are either unavailable or have been severely targeted by Russian forces during the current state of emergency, with Russian soldiers attacking orphanages, schools, and even children's hospitals. Persons with disabilities must be protected and kept safe. It is critical, especially in times of conflict, the anxiety of autistic children grow. Sensations of being physically or emotionally confined, difficulty adjusting to wartime situations, and a loss of personal control is what they are going through.  We should aid these families by donating to them and encouraging people to take an active part in raising funds and other materials to assist Ukrainian children with autism and developmental disabilities who have been injured by Russia's military invasion. The INGO CASF Child with Future, which has been working for the rights of autistic people and their families for 12 years, is a great destination for our donations. Many individuals, including children, are not obtaining the protection and support they really need deserve, and it is heartbreaking to watch all these people ripped from their homes, torn from caretakers, and exposed to violence. The war is generating trauma, fear, depression, and stress in children at such a young age; picture how disabled infants are struggling to comprehend what is happening. Disabled children have been kept captive by their limitations all throughout Ukraine. Due to the severity of the explosions, some people may not have access to refuge, and escape is not an option for others who are emotionally and physically incapable, it is terrible that individuals in general lack access to water and power as a result of their homes being damaged during the battles. In this country's current situation, donating humanitarian assistance such as food, water, hygiene kits, support services, and direct monetary assistance is critical. The humanitarian group hopes to gather $20 million in order to assist at least 4 million Ukrainians. It states that women and girls, homes, and the elderly would be prioritized. International Medical Corps- The worldwide NGO has been providing primary health care and mental health services in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and it is currently soliciting funding to extend those services for individuals affected by the new violence. Ukraine's war is destroying communities and threatening the lives of millions, and we could give them our help by donating to them, anything in this type of situations is life changing. All of these presentations were great, and it was truly devastating and angering seeing what is happening in the world.

  

Thaisha Sainvil

Presentations

 The presentation was in Jun 2, and I was in group 3, and my part of the presentation was the people with special needs (people with disability) in Ukraine. I think we did an excellent work putting this together, we had some great information along with some informative video about our subjects. I learned a lot about Ukraine situation, especially the people with disability I never knew how terrible this whole situation was, how the people with special need were completely neglected by the government. Assistance for people with mental health is a major issue In Ukraine, it is actually very sad to hear how these people are suffering. The government is not helping because of financial issues. Everything went pretty much the same from last presentation, each group had a group leader, and each group had a topic and a few minutes to present. Group 3 went last, and we were rushing through everything, and did not have time to play our videos just like last time, our presentation was great, I had this very interesting video that I wanted us to see about this young lady living with a disability in Ukraine. Her story has so much to learn from but unfortunately, we did not get the chance to see it, that was so sad. But we did our best anyway I think we did great. I hope next presentation we can play everything on our slides, and the other group to try not to play a long video, just to save time for the other groups. 

All the group presented their part very well, we had to use google slide so that all the participants could add their presentation.  I learned so much, I enjoyed everything from each group, it was very informative, so much to learn from. Each of the group had enough time to present their part very well. Each group understood the situation going in Ukraine, they did some great research about the war. They had a lot of informative videos on each slide, I really did enjoy them and learned a lot too. Sometimes, we are not aware of the things that is going on around the world, that is why it is important to do some research every now and then. With this presentation I discover so much great information, I read a very interesting article about the Ukraine government issues, which I did not get the chance to talk about on my presentation, unfortunately. Ukraine have been going through a lot and I cannot believe how oblivious I was, until I started doing research for this presentation.  I really like working with in groups, we all help each other’s in every way possible, to make sure everyone is on the right path with all the works. And having head leader is very important for the groups. All the groups were amazing, all the participants did an awesome work on their presentation, I am sure everyone were satisfied and learned from each presentation. 

Yeny Rojas

Presentations

In the current climate, all eyes are on Ukraine and its people. Countless citizens have been left on the streets with no food, water, or resources. Russia's leader proclaims that the motives for his incessant attack on Ukraine serves to free its people from "eight years of bullying and genocide".

           Russian forces have even gone as far as to spread damaging propaganda with claims of Nazis and genocide in Ukraine: which are entirely baseless and unsubstantiated.

           It is crucial that we as individuals educate ourselves on these matters to better aid those in need. From the onset of the presentation, tensions were high when discussing the effects of the war on Ukraine.

           The first presentation centered around immigration, housing, financial status, and unemployment. As the lecture commenced the presenter detailed their topics and paired this with a moving image depicting what seemingly looks like an older Ukrainian woman sitting next to the remains of her home. As she sits in the rubble and ash her facial expression is one of desperation and it is apparent that she is unsure of what her next move should be.

           From then on, the presenter details safety protocols for occasions such as fires, bombings, and overall building collapse. Such catastrophes are happening due to Russia’s targeting of not only military sites but villages and civilian populations as well. The presenter also pointed out that it is crucial one has documentation explicitly stating their ownership of the property, which will aid in the later claim of any financial government aid or insurance benefits.

           According to the presenter, for cases such as this, Ukraine has developed an app that serves as a secure cloud for citizens to upload scans of any documentation they have at hand to ensure their safety and wellbeing after the disaster.

           A notable event that came as a response to the war was the development and use of bomb shelters. Such shelters solve problems such as resource scarcity and distribution, medical attention, and temporary housing.

           The presenter then notes on future proceedings of filing for a refund. I appreciate that the speaker detailed safety protocols that are useful for both the present and future of citizens in Ukraine. Overall, their presentation was eloquent and concise. They not only detailed current events but they listed possible solutions for problems and went over proper safety protocols for during and after disasters such as this one.

           This presentation used visual aids such as pictures and videos that helped communicate the speaker's point. The videos included were well suited for said presentation and added useful information to the lecture.

           overall, this presentation was more than adequate at introducing the main problems that Ukraine citizens are facing because of Russia's attacks. I'd also like to add that the diversity in sources used in the first presentation reflects excellently on the reliability of the information given by the presenter.

           The following presentation focused on Ukraine's education system in the wake of war. The speaker begins by recognizing that this is a topic that viewers may take for granted and points out that not everyone has the luxury of a stable education.

           The presenter references a previous lesson on how the mode of communication can affect not only the delivery but how the message is received. Following this explanation, he utilizes a video depicting a woman crying out in distress. He cleverly uses a video in Ukraine instead of English to demonstrate that you don’t always have to understand what a person is saying to comprehend the interaction itself.

           This addition of the lesson recall gets the viewer aware of not only the message but its delivery as well. I'd like to point out that this mention of the gravity of the situation exposes how the presenter truly attempted to accurately paint Ukraine’s suffering with as much respect and compassion as possible.

           Going back to the topic of education in Ukraine, the speaker provides the audience with some useful statistics on how many individuals are currently enrolled in Ukrainian universities. From then on, they detail how colleges are contributing to the aid in Ukraine by providing citizens with food and other resources and even canceling classes.

           The most prominent part of this presentation was the conviction and evident effort the speakers put into assembling their lecture. They not only detailed the current struggle, but they also relied upon it in daily life in other countries and pointed out that we as viewers should approach this topic with more compassion to fully understand their point of view.

           The third and final presentation focused on Ukraine’s especially vulnerable population and their unique struggle to cope with the destruction going on around them.

           In my research, I found it difficult to stay distanced and unbiased of Russia’s role in this disaster. What came to mind was a psychological experiment that took place shortly after the holocaust. Its purpose was to investigate the individual responsibilities of each person involved in the heinous acts that took place from the commanders to their soldiers.

           What they discovered was that most people when presented with a clear authority figure will always betray their moral code and stay obedient rather than stay true to themselves and rebel.

           How this connects to the crisis in Ukraine is in Russia's targeting of especially vulnerable populations. Such as children, the elderly, disabled individuals, and those struggling with mental disorders. Soldiers are likely also betraying their moral code to appease commands from their superiors.

           After having personally researched as well as viewing other students’ presentations I am truly grateful for this assignment. It has opened my eyes to the experiences of others around the world and has made me realize the importance of staying informed.

           All in all, I frankly can’t determine my favorite presentation because they were all executed beautifully, and they all contained such valuable information. In the future, I look forward to other assignments such as this one which allow me to not only further my understanding of global issues, but also allowed me to educate my peers on such critical issues.