In Ukraine, Attacks on Schools Hurt Future Generations
2022-05-25
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1As the war in Ukraine continues, there is increasing evidence that Russia has knowingly attacked schools.
2Attacks on civilian structures are considered a possible war crime.
3The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled over 1,000 schools and has destroyed 95.
4The Associated Press said the large amount of wreckage and damage is evidence that Russia knew that it was targeting schools.
5Recent attacks include a school in the eastern village of Bilohorivka where a bomb destroyed the school.
6On March 3, School No. 21 in Chernihiv was bombed.
7Schoolteacher, Inna Levchenko had reopened School No. 21 to shelter scared families.
8She has taught there for 30 years.
9School officials painted the word "children" in large letters on the windows. Russia bombed the school anyway.
10Levchenko was buried under wreckage and her legs were broken.
11She could not see because of blood and dust, but she could hear screams.
12Just before the attack, she had ordered 70 children to shelter in the basement of the school.
13They would survive. But nine other people, including a 13-year-old boy who was her student would not.
14Levchenko said, "Why schools? I cannot comprehend their motivation. It is painful to realize how many friends of mine died ... and how many children, who remained alone without parents, got traumatized. They will remember it all their life and will pass their stories to the next generation."
15The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline have been investigating the incidents.
16The two reported that they have independently confirmed that Russia has destroyed 57 schools.
17They say the attacks were carried out in a way that suggests possible war crimes.
18These schools represent a few of the many possible war crimes.
19Ukraine's prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, The International Criminal Court and others are investigating more than 8,000 possible war crimes involving hundreds of suspects.
20They say Russia is targeting schools, hospitals and other civilian buildings.
21By targeting schools, Russia is taking a secure and nurturing space for children and changing them into places of fear and violence.
22A school director from the town of Gorlovka, Sergey But, said, "It's a tragedy for us ... It's a tragedy for the children."
23His school, was a place where children flew kites and took photos of their friends.
24Now, he said it is in ruins with broken glass and wreckage.
25Two teachers, Elena Kudrik, the geography teacher, and Elena Ivanova, the assistant director of the school were killed.
26In towns like Ohktyrka, cluster bombs, shelling, and gunfire have destroyed several kindergartens.
27Young children, teachers, and parents have been killed.
28Valeria Grusha has taught in Kyiv province for 35 years.
29She said that just as school administrators had started to prepare for the war, Russian troops invaded.
30They stopped teaching and called Ukrainian leaders.
31Grusha said, "When I start talking to the directors of destroyed and robbed institutions, they are very worried, crying, telling with pain and regret."
32Russian officials deny attacking civilian buildings like schools and hospitals.
33Local media in Russian-held Gorlovka said Ukrainian forces caused the explosion that killed the two teachers while trying to recapture the town.
34War crime experts say it will be difficult to prove the intent of the attacks even with the destruction and killing of civilians.
35David Bosco is a professor and researcher of international relations and war crimes at Indiana University.
36He said that prosecuting war crimes can be difficult.
37If the military uses civilian buildings, then those buildings can be wartime targets.
38The chief idea is to find a pattern of Russia targeting civilian buildings like schools as a military approach.
39"The more you can show a pattern, then the stronger the case becomes that this was really a policy of not discriminating between military and civilian facilities," Bosco said.
40Surviving such conflicts like war and having schools destroyed hurts teachers and students for generations to come.
41Bosco said schools are supposed to be a safe place.
42He said destroying that is "in essence, attacking the next generation."
43Abdulkafi Alhamdo is a Syrian teacher from Aleppo, Syria.
44Jasminko Halilovic is a 34-year-old from Sarajevo, in present-day Bosnia-Herzegovina.
45Both men have seen school destroyed by war and suffering.
46Alhamdo saw these things during the Syrian civil war in 2014, and Halilovic saw it during the Bosnian War in early 1990s.
47Alhamdo remembers the children's paintings dripping with blood after a bomb exploded during an artwork presentation.
48He said that creating fear, hopelessness and anger in the children is the goal of the enemy.
49Alhamdo said, "When they see their school destroyed, do you know how many dreams have been destroyed?"
50Halilovic was a young child during the Bosnian War.
51He also went to school in underground rooms.
52He has founded the War Childhood Museum.
53It records children's stories and saves objects from wartime.
54He has worked with displaced Ukrainian children since the start of the invasion of the Donbas area in Ukraine in 2014.
55He recently had to remove himself and his workers because of the current conflict.
56Halilovic said, "Once the fighting ends, the new fight will start. To rebuild cities. To rebuild schools and infrastructure, and to rebuild society, and to heal. And to heal is the most difficult," he said.
57More than half of Ukrainian children have been displaced.
58Schools have become shelters, and the war has forced learning underground.
59Millions of children are continuing their studies on the internet.
60International aid organizations like Save the Children and UNICEF have been working with the government to set up internet learning programs.
61Save the Children said in a statement, "Educating every child is essential to preventing grave violations of their rights."
62I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Faith Pirlo.
1As the war in Ukraine continues, there is increasing evidence that Russia has knowingly attacked schools. 2Attacks on civilian structures are considered a possible war crime. The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled over 1,000 schools and has destroyed 95. The Associated Press said the large amount of wreckage and damage is evidence that Russia knew that it was targeting schools. 3Recent attacks include a school in the eastern village of Bilohorivka where a bomb destroyed the school. On March 3, School No. 21 in Chernihiv was bombed. 4Schoolteacher, Inna Levchenko had reopened School No. 21 to shelter scared families. She has taught there for 30 years. School officials painted the word "children" in large letters on the windows. Russia bombed the school anyway. 5Levchenko was buried under wreckage and her legs were broken. She could not see because of blood and dust, but she could hear screams. Just before the attack, she had ordered 70 children to shelter in the basement of the school. They would survive. But nine other people, including a 13-year-old boy who was her student would not. 6Levchenko said, "Why schools? I cannot comprehend their motivation. It is painful to realize how many friends of mine died ... and how many children, who remained alone without parents, got traumatized. They will remember it all their life and will pass their stories to the next generation." 7The Associated Press and the PBS series Frontline have been investigating the incidents. The two reported that they have independently confirmed that Russia has destroyed 57 schools. They say the attacks were carried out in a way that suggests possible war crimes. These schools represent a few of the many possible war crimes. 8Ukraine's prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, The International Criminal Court and others are investigating more than 8,000 possible war crimes involving hundreds of suspects. 9They say Russia is targeting schools, hospitals and other civilian buildings. By targeting schools, Russia is taking a secure and nurturing space for children and changing them into places of fear and violence. 10A school director from the town of Gorlovka, Sergey But, said, "It's a tragedy for us ... It's a tragedy for the children." His school, was a place where children flew kites and took photos of their friends. Now, he said it is in ruins with broken glass and wreckage. Two teachers, Elena Kudrik, the geography teacher, and Elena Ivanova, the assistant director of the school were killed. 11In towns like Ohktyrka, cluster bombs, shelling, and gunfire have destroyed several kindergartens. Young children, teachers, and parents have been killed. Valeria Grusha has taught in Kyiv province for 35 years. She said that just as school administrators had started to prepare for the war, Russian troops invaded. They stopped teaching and called Ukrainian leaders. 12Grusha said, "When I start talking to the directors of destroyed and robbed institutions, they are very worried, crying, telling with pain and regret." 13Russian officials deny attacking civilian buildings like schools and hospitals. Local media in Russian-held Gorlovka said Ukrainian forces caused the explosion that killed the two teachers while trying to recapture the town. 14War crime experts say it will be difficult to prove the intent of the attacks even with the destruction and killing of civilians. 15David Bosco is a professor and researcher of international relations and war crimes at Indiana University. He said that prosecuting war crimes can be difficult. If the military uses civilian buildings, then those buildings can be wartime targets. The chief idea is to find a pattern of Russia targeting civilian buildings like schools as a military approach. 16"The more you can show a pattern, then the stronger the case becomes that this was really a policy of not discriminating between military and civilian facilities," Bosco said. 17Surviving such conflicts like war and having schools destroyed hurts teachers and students for generations to come. 18Bosco said schools are supposed to be a safe place. He said destroying that is "in essence, attacking the next generation." 19Abdulkafi Alhamdo is a Syrian teacher from Aleppo, Syria. Jasminko Halilovic is a 34-year-old from Sarajevo, in present-day Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both men have seen school destroyed by war and suffering. Alhamdo saw these things during the Syrian civil war in 2014, and Halilovic saw it during the Bosnian War in early 1990s. 20Alhamdo remembers the children's paintings dripping with blood after a bomb exploded during an artwork presentation. He said that creating fear, hopelessness and anger in the children is the goal of the enemy. 21Alhamdo said, "When they see their school destroyed, do you know how many dreams have been destroyed?" 22Halilovic was a young child during the Bosnian War. He also went to school in underground rooms. He has founded the War Childhood Museum. It records children's stories and saves objects from wartime. He has worked with displaced Ukrainian children since the start of the invasion of the Donbas area in Ukraine in 2014. He recently had to remove himself and his workers because of the current conflict. 23Halilovic said, "Once the fighting ends, the new fight will start. To rebuild cities. To rebuild schools and infrastructure, and to rebuild society, and to heal. And to heal is the most difficult," he said. 24More than half of Ukrainian children have been displaced. Schools have become shelters, and the war has forced learning underground. Millions of children are continuing their studies on the internet. International aid organizations like Save the Children and UNICEF have been working with the government to set up internet learning programs. 25Save the Children said in a statement, "Educating every child is essential to preventing grave violations of their rights." 26I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Faith Pirlo. 27Jason Dearen, Juliet Linderman, and Oleksandr Stashevskyi reported this story for Reuters. Faith Pirlo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 28_______________________________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30comprehend - v. to understand the meaning of 31traumatize - v. to cause to become very upset in a way that often leads to serious emotional problems 32resilience - n. ability to bounce back and be strong 33prosecutor - n. one who is in charge of the process of pursuing formal charges against an offender to final judgment 34nurturing - n. feeding and caring for a child or someone else who needs it 35kite - n. an object that has a light frame and cloth that can be used for flying in the air with the wind 36intent -n. what someone means to do 37pattern - n. a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics 38approach -- n. a particular manner of taking such steps 39facilities - n. a place, especially in buildings, where a particular activity happens 40essence - n. the basic nature of a thing the quality or qualities that make a thing what it is 41grave- n. serious or very important