It seems that only a month ago, the global COVID-19 pandemic was our greatest problem. Recent events have brought us an additional challenge. A war is ravaging Europe and the entire world with many consequences that are still unknown.
We are an international school and we understand the importance of providing safe shelter for all students. Many of them come from third-culture countries (TCKs), and have not lived in their country for long periods. They are connected to their roots through their language, their family, visits back home, social networks, and even friendships with cultural friends in the host country.
We celebrate our multiculturalism with international gatherings, to share each other’s food, where flags are seen as a celebration of home-culture, not used as a personal statement.
We are a school that prides itself on diversity, inclusiveness and our international-mindedness; as such we have to acknowledge the difficulties going on in the home countries and globally. It has become obvious that our campus must be a safe space where all people, Russians and Ukrainians, feel safe, regardless of the political situation back home.
Our campus must be a safe space where all people, Russians and Ukrainians, feel secure
One of our guiding principles is “We trust that a caring inclusive community will help build a sense of self-worth and a profound respect for others”. When war broke out, we took steps to ensure safety for everyone in our community. This meant communicating with parents, staff, and students to remind them of our anti-discrimination policy.
In the past, our students were reminded of how fortunate they were to live in peacetime. Most school-age kids don’t know what it means to live through war. They are only able to relate to it through movies, grandparent stories, and history lessons. These lessons most likely included the Cold War, spheres, influence, sovereignty, and the impact on the children. The closest they might get to outcomes is through a community service programme that enhances social responsibility by “taking action”, such as our engagement in migrant and refugee projects at the Maltese Peace Lab or Women’s Migrant Organisation.
Verdala International School has families that fled conflict in Syria and Libya. They have their own stories of hardships and intolerance. One might wonder why this war is any different.
Perhaps the answer lies in the global impact. Our students felt more distant and disconnected from the atrocities that war causes. Now they are hearing words like ‘nuclear weapons’ or ‘World War III’, rhetoric unheard of since the 1980s.
For European countries, this war feels much closer and is causing anxiety in our young people. Our students are paying more attention to this war. They find it difficult to process what is happening and struggle to navigate social media flooded with images and scenarios.
As other schools, we have had to address this sensitively and with care. We have reached out directly to all the families that were affected by the conflict, and also provided age-appropriate support to our students so they could unpack their thoughts.
Our curriculum is driven by the International Baccalaureate framework, whose mission statement aims to “encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right”.
Our students must be able to address the elephant in their room: the history, the trauma, and the long-term consequences that could impact us all.
We recognize that there are things beyond our control. We are the international school of choice in the island. However, we are a multi-cultural community that will always be true to its values of compassion and respect, while focusing on our common humanity.
This was perhaps best shown when one of our Russian students comforted a fellow Ukrainian peer who was desperately worried about his family back in Ukraine. We were able to forget about social distancing rules and just hug our friend.
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