Ukraine teen refugee finds violence at San Francisco school so bad she wants to go back

Kyiv: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022, have not just devastated infrastructure and claimed innocent lives but has also deterred the path to success for most Ukrainian children.

Several kids fled the war-torn nation to pursue their dreams, among them is a teenaged girl who fled last year to settle in San Francisco, but now wants to return to Kyiv experiencing violence in public school systems in the US.

The 13-year-old Ukrainian girl, Yana, started her academics in eighth grade at Marina Middle School in January. In no time, she learned that life in the US, especially for a teenager like herself, is not akin to what many non-Americans feel.

High hopes from San Francisco schools

Yana said she wondered that her life would get better as she would pursue her academics in San Francisco, “but after two days, I was disturbed with what was going on at the school,” San Francisco Chronicle reported the Ukrainian girl saying.

Students disrespect teachers

Sharing her ordeal, Yana said she saw students repeatedly interrupting classes, causing disturbances and blatantly disrespecting teachers. She further said there were no disciplinary action taken against the pupils.

The teenager said that she soon started to realise that the behaviour was “normal” at public schools in San Francisco.

‘Became a bullying target’ 

As per the report, Yana, who escaped the war, became a bullying target. She alleged that her mobile phone was stolen and a group of students persistently threatened her.

Yana went on to say that she stopped attending school as the incidents scared her and made her depressed. Concerned about the young girl, her family requested that she be moved to a different school, but it was turned down by school district.

“Yana just wants to go back to her hometown in central Ukraine, back to the only school she knew before the war, even as her mom and aunt have started to research camps and other programs in San Francisco to occupy the summer months,” the report quoted Yana’s aunt saying.

The Russia-Ukraine war completes a year on Friday, 24 February, 2023. In this one year, more than 8 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland.

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