Support of Ukrainian and Russian community at KABK

18 maart 2022

Nieuws

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dramatic consequences for Ukrainian and Russian students and staff members at the KABK. As an academy, we are very concerned about the situation and developments in Ukraine and we are closely monitoring the situation. Students worry about the fate of family and friends and both Ukrainian and Russian students face various other problems.

We deeply sympathise with our affected students, staff and their families. Given the current situation and developments, we do what we can to support those who are directly or indirectly affected by this. We are very proud of how our student community is reacting to the situation and the support that we are giving each other in these tragic times and we hope that this support will continue for the months ahead. However, we do see alarming signs of increasing Russophobia within our larger society, so we call on everyone within our community to treat each other with care, respect and the understanding that the Russian government is not acting in the name of their citizens.

Worries about finances, study progress and residence status/visa

We also notice that the situation in Ukraine causes acute worries for students with regard to finances, study progress and residence status/visa. Below you find more information about these topics.

Some Ukrainian and Russian students indicated they have difficulties with focussing on their study right now, which is understandable. They are advised to get in touch with their study coaches to discuss their worries and can be referred to the student counsellor Mirjam Pol as these are extraordinary circumstances.

Besides the intense concern of students about family and friends, both Ukrainian and Russian students face financial problems. Ukrainian students are facing financial problems because their parents are fleeing and can no longer transfer money. Russian students, on the other hand, are facing financial problems since Russia was disconnected from Swift. This means they can no longer access their Russian bank accounts and their family can no longer transfer money to them.

To help all these students the Dutch government decided to make 1 million euro available for the support of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian students in the Netherlands. It is still elaborated how this will be made available. For acute problems please get in touch with Aparajita Dutta, head of Internationalisation.

The situation has a major impact on the wellbeing of students, teachers and staff members in our community. Obviously for those with family or friends in the area, but possibly also for all of us who are sympathetic and concerned and specifically those who have been confronted with war violence before.

Psychological help has been offered to our Ukrainian and Russian students. For all other students: If you are not feeling well, please contact our student counsellor Mirjam Pol.

For all staff members who are affected by this war and wish to receive psychological support, please contact hr@hdkdenhaag.nl.

    The academy will organise meetings to get together and relax, eat and talk. Keep an eye on the screens for this.
  • The Ukrainian student community at the KABK are fundraising for NGOs and government organisations in Ukraine. At the moment, an amount of 13,645 euros has been raised. This has been donated to organisations in Ukraine. For questions, you can reach out to Julia Waraksa (3214931@kabk.nl). If you would like to support the fundraising efforts of the students you can transfer money through these details:
  • The website Help-Ukraine.nl is made by volunteers in cooperation with the Foundation Ukrainians in the Netherlands. This page is updated daily with the latest information from the foundation and helps you with the question "how can I help".
  • Amsterdam's business community responded rapidly to the situation. People for People is a non-profit organization supplying humanitarian aid for victims of the crisis in Ukraine.
  • In the event of exceptional disasters, eleven cooperating aid organisations joined forces under the name Giro555. They ask the entire Netherlands to join them in order to raise money to help victims.
  • If you want to help by offering a place to stay or donating supplies, you can do so through the online platform of VluchtelingenWerk (in Dutch).

Also read our statement: