{"id":137531,"date":"2022-03-10T14:57:29","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T13:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=137531"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:10","slug":"my-father-was-afraid-the-russians-would-kidnap-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/03\/10\/my-father-was-afraid-the-russians-would-kidnap-him\/","title":{"rendered":"‘My father was afraid the Russians would kidnap him’"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is it like for Ukrainian students to experience a war? What does it mean for them, their family and friends? \u00a0Although they couldn\u2019t take everything with them, many Ukrainians fled with their cats and loyal dogs. The father of business administration student Macha Tacquet was the last vet in Odessa. \u201cHe had to leave all the animals he was caring for behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

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First-year business administration student Macha Tacquet (18) had a macro-economics exam two weeks ago. She had studied for it, but things didn\u2019t go as planned. \u201cI just kept scrolling on my phone. I felt so far away from my family; so afraid and useless.\u201d<\/p>\n

United<\/h2>

Macha has a Ukrainian mother and a French father. She grew up in Odessa, but following her parents\u2019 divorce relocated to Greece with her mother in 2014, where her family has a marina. Her father stayed living in Ukraine, as did her grandparents and cousins.<\/p>\n

She feels a strong bond with the country she grew up in: \u201cIf this had happened in the time that we left it would have been a totally different story. The people\u2019s whole mentality has changed since then. I didn\u2019t identify myself as Ukrainian during the occupation of Crimea and the war in the east, but Putin\u2019s recent invasion has changed everything. Even Ukrainians who used to make public pro-Russian statements are now fighting for Zelensky. For the first time, the mood in the country is united. I now feel completely Ukrainian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macha was terrified a week ago, as she had absolutely no idea what would happen to her father. \u201cMy father was afraid the Russians would kidnap him,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Animals hardly matter when people are being mowed down randomly on the streets.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t
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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t