Ukrainians abroad are experiencing “a bit of sheer terror" as they watch Russia attack their home country, MIT student Ether Bezugla told Morning Edition hosts Paris Alston and Jeremy Siegel.
"I'm in constant panic because I can't see, like, my grandparents face and my family's face,” Bezugla said. “And just the fact that someone you love very, very much can die at any time and you are utterly helpless to do anything about it.”
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Bezugla is a senior at MIT studying computer science. Their parents immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine, and their grandparents are still there, hiding in their cellar from the bombs. It was too dangerous to evacuate them.
“A cellar in Ukraine is not the same as one in America where you might have tiled flooring and your video games,” they said. “It is where we store our food. It gets very cold because it acts as a second fridge, so it's not the most comfortable place to be.”
Half of Bezugla's family is in a rural part of Ukraine which has seen less fighting, but is still dangerous because of radiation. The other half are in Kharkiv, in the middle of the bombing and shelling.
“It was quiet today and we hope they'll stay quiet,” they said. “We are worried about the night and the shelling increasing.”
"And just the fact that someone you love very, very much can die at any time and you are utterly helpless to do anything about it."-Ether Bezugla, MIT student
Bezugla has been working out of MIT’s Theta Delta Chi fraternity, which has turned into a gathering place and organizing headquarters for MIT’s Ukrainian community.
“No matter how much you claw and try to get things to happen, nothing ever feels like it's enough. It's hard. You feel very helpless,” they said.
The group has been organizing rallies, talking with MIT administrators, advocating and sharing resources, and they said they will keep working as long as the conflict lasts.
“I really hope that everything ends all right. I'm so proud of Ukraine and how it's doing and how the people there are fighting,” they said. “We just have to do everything we can to help because we are not the ones under airstrike.”
