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In this film, we explore Sikh perspectives on climate change through the lens of religious teachings and ethics. Sikhism teaches that the Earth is sacred, a divine creation of Waheguru, and must be treated with reverence and care. The principle of ‘Sarbat da Bhala’—working for the well-being of all—extends to protecting the environment and all forms of life. The Sikh faith emphasises humility, selfless service (seva), and living in harmony with nature as core spiritual values.

Sikh commitment to sustainability is deeply rooted in practices like communal kitchens (langar), which promote plant-based diets and reduce waste, and the use of renewable energy in gurdwaras around the world. Through these teachings and practices, the Sikh tradition calls for urgent and compassionate action to address climate change, highlighting both personal responsibility and collective effort to safeguard the Earth for future generations.

By linking spiritual values with environmental activism, Climate Change: Sikhism shows how faith can inspire a more just, green, and sustainable future for all.

Climate Change: Sikhism

Prubhjyot: My name is Prubhjyot Singh and I am a co-founder of Eco-Sikh UK. Eco-Sikh UK are here to inspire the youth of the Sikhs here in the UK to come out and look after their environment and realise that we need to change ourselves, change our lifestyles to make a change for the environment and look after our well-being and our future generations well-being. Sikhs come from an area in India called Punjab, which is in the north west bordering Pakistan. A lot of Sikhs back in the days were farmers who would grow their own food and feed their families and live sustainably. Land of Punjab is very rich in agricultural land in terms of farming. Making our own food, growing our own food and feeding our families. Traditionally, we would pass down the knowledge of good farming and living sustainably and being stewards, good stewards of the land, down generation by generation. A lot of these values have now been lost when our families have moved into the Western world. As Sikhs, we believe in Guru Granth Sahib ji and Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Whereas most people will see it as a book where it has all of our messages written within it, we as Sikhs don't describe it as a book. Guru Granth Sahib Ji for us is a living guru which has all the knowledge contained within it. The Guru Granth Sahib Ji actually begins not with a word but with a number, and the number is one, and the number one symbolises oneness of everything. As Sikhs, we believe there is there is one God. But however, that one actually has a deeper meaning to it, which we believe it to be is there is nothing but God. So if you see that as everything is created by that oneness, we are part of that oneness. As human beings, as the animals that are out there, the environment, the trees, the water, this planet, the whole universe is part of that oneness. There's a line in Guru Granth Sahib Ji which says Pavan guru pani pita Mata tata mehat, which basically translates to that pavan. The air is our guru, the water is our father and the planet Earth. The mother is our Mata. So we need to look after the three elements.

We need to look after the Mother Earth for it to provide us with a living environment, a fresh air environment where we can go and have fresh water. We need to be able to live in balance, in sustainable balance within the creation and the environment around us. When it comes to looking after the environment, it's important for us to have a sustainable view. We need to be able to live within our means. We need to be able to look after the environment that we live in. So rather than destroying the trees or cutting them down or building on agricultural land, we need to have a balance where we're provided with the elements that we require. We require fresh air, we require water, we need all these elements to survive. And one of the biggest facts we need to remember is that Mother Earth will thrive without human beings. Whereas human beings cannot live without the natural environment and the fresh air and the oxygen that the environment provides us.

So two really important concepts in Sikhism is a seva. And sever is all about selfless giving. You might have seen Sikhs go out there and feed the poor. You might have seen Sikhs donate a lot of money to a good cause. However, we're not very good at when it comes to the environmental things. And now I think that's where sarbat da bhala is very important. So sarbat da bhala basically means. Good for all. While feeding the poor is feeding the poor. And obviously you're providing food and you're providing money for good causes. But when it comes to the environment, by planting a tree that will give oxygen to anyone that walks past that tree, and it brings that sarbat da bhala concept into a whole new vision. As eco Sikhs have been planting trees alongside Canal and River trust, we've been part of the longest orchard in the world. We've helped clean up canals, we've helped pick up litter. We've helped communities live in a better environment. Eco-Sikh is not just an organisation in UK, it's a worldwide organisation and one of our biggest teams is currently in India working on a project called Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sacred Forest. This was to celebrate Guru Nanak's 550th birthday. The concept of this project is to bring back biodiversity back into the areas where we had lost it over the last 40 to 50 years. For every tree we plant, it acts like a home or a habitat for insects, birds and animals. It's great to bring that wildlife back to the local community there. It also helps in carbon capture and bring down the pollution within those areas. So in 2019, it was Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th birth anniversary. This is a really important celebration for the Sikh's all around the world. While planting the 550 trees involved, we were approached by the Holy Trinity Church vicar and he wanted to celebrate Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th alongside the Sikh community. This was a great idea. The whole community got together, and we decided that the 550th tree would be planted in the courtyard of the Holy Trinity Church.

 At this event, we had various different faiths, including the Sikhs, the Hindus, Muslims, Christians, the Jews and all the local community. This event really encompassed the message that Sikhi really brings out and Guru Nanak's message of oneness, that everything is one. The whole universe is created in that one's form. There is nothing but God. God is in all. And this event really showed that if the communities can get together and work together, we can really make a positive change in saving our environment. While a lot of the skills that we required in Punjab are not required here in the Western world, here at Ecosikh, we want to make sure that we're still keeping the values of being good stewards and sustainability, and we're passing them down to our younger generations. We can do that by reducing our plastic usage within our houses, eating local food rather than getting food from across the world, eating seasonal food, maybe reducing our water usage, maybe walking to the local supermarket. There is so much you can do at home. Start at home and then take it to the local communities. Take it to your local groups. Take it to the local gurdwaras. It's important for us all to push together and make a positive impact for the environment. Eco-Sikh hold regular talks with gurdwaras our place of worship, where we talk about how to make Gurdwaras environmentally friendly. There's many ways of doing this. This could be from looking at solar panels, using electric usage, reducing our water usage, or how we recycle our food waste from our langar, which is our community kitchen. There's so many ways of getting the community involved in helping out with all of this, but the most important part is it's not just the Sikhs, it's all the communities together. Whether you're a muslim, whether you're a Hindu, whether you're Sikh, Christian, it doesn't matter who you are. It's going to take not just one community. It will take all the communities to work together. It will take all the religions to work together. It will take the whole planet to work together. It's about everyone saving the environment for the future generations.

Climate Change: Sikhism

Video length - 07.47
Published date - Sep 2025
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

From the critically acclaimed BBC Two and iPlayer series Pilgrimage follows well known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs on a personal journey of discovery as they tackle some of the most famous walking routes across the UK and Europe. In this series the Pilgrims go to Austria in Pilgrimage The Road Through the Alps.

Nelufar and Steph chat with a refugee from Afghanistan, which has a special resonance for Nelufar because she was also a refugee from Afghanistan. 

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Narrator:  Nelufar and Stef have gone to the town of Bludesch. On the outskirts is a refugee centre run by Caritas, an international Catholic charity. Nelufar came into the UK as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of seven.

Nelufar:   It's one of the invisible things that make me who I am. But I am nervous.

Stef:         I feel like this is quite a personal story for you.

Nelufar:   Yeah.

Narrator:  They're meeting Faisal Karim. He's lived at the centre for a year with other international refugees from a range of backgrounds and situations.

Faisal:      Hey.

Nelufar:   Hi. Good to meet you. I'm Nelufar. Salaam alaikum.

Stef:         Stephanie.

Narrator:  Faisal Kareem was brought from Afghanistan by people traffickers and spent a difficult year moving through various countries before finally arriving in Austria.

Nelufar:   With his own eyes.

Nelufar:   How important was your faith in your journey?

Nelufar:   He says when you're a muslim, you're a muslim. His deen, his belief was always the same.

Nelufar:   Wow. Here. He's free to pray or not pray. But in Afghanistan, he had to pray. So then. Which is faith, which is real? You know,

Stef:       May I ask, what is your hope for the future? What is your dream now?

Nelufar:   Just normal things really ordinary things that we all have.

Narrator:  For now Faisal Karim has a job locally, studies German and spends time with the other refugees.

Stef:        Thank you so, so much.

Nelufar:  Bye!

Pilgrimage Moments: A Refugee Story

Video length - 04.18
Published date - Jun 2025
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

From the critically acclaimed BBC Two and iPlayer series Pilgrimage follows well known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs on a personal journey of discovery as they tackle some of the most famous walking routes across the UK and Europe. In this series the Pilgrims go to Austria in Pilgrimage The Road Through the Alps.

Helen engages in a thoughtful and emotional conversation with Daliso, delving into her Jewish heritage and exploring the layered, often conflicting emotions she feels about the tragic fate of her father’s family, many of whom perished in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. As she reflects on this painful history, she grapples with the question of whether she has the right or even the responsibility to claim and “own” that legacy as part of her personal and cultural identity, especially given the generational distance and the complexity of inherited trauma.

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Pilgrimage Moments: Jewish Roots

Daliso:     On this pilgrimage. When we are going through these places, the memories like, how do you feel?

Helen:      It's triggering so much of, you know, obviously my father loved Austria so much because as a boy he would come to Austria. But then the more you know about the actual role that the Austrians purportedly played in the war, the two things are in conflict because a lot of Austrians were part of the Final Solution. I mean, this is the thing about numbers. The thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people who died, including my father's family in Auschwitz. I mean, it's just beggars belief, doesn't it?

Daliso:     Yes. So it was your father's family. How did your father get get away?

Helen:      Well, I think what was usual in 39 is you had to have a sponsor in England. They sent my father to school in Margate early, and then his parents followed and his sister followed.

Daliso:     And when you were growing up, was it spoken of or never spoken of.

Helen:      It wasn't largely spoken of because of the need and the gratitude to be English and wanting to put. The past you know, behind you and celebrate like we are just celebrating now, but move forward.

Daliso:     Yeah, do you feel your Jewishness plays a big part in your life?

Helen:      The Jewishness is complicated because I wasn't brought up in a Jewish home. We didn't. My mother was English, not Jewish. But when I think about my grandmother and the way she spoke and her sadness because there was obviously sadness, um, it's a conflict because you you've inherited this, like, paranoia that there's something you can't talk about, you can't overclaim it, because that would be a disservice to those people who are central to it. But it's really coming. It's kind of I'm feeling it now.

Daliso:     I'm feeling it here.

Helen:      So pick up your sticks. Let's go and catch up with the others.

Daliso:     I enjoyed a brief rest.

Helen:      A little rest.

Daliso:     Let's do it.

Helen:      More pilgrimage now.

 

Pilgrimage Moments: Jewish Roots

Video length - 02.41
Published date - Jun 2025
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

From the critically acclaimed BBC Two and iPlayer series Pilgrimage follows well known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs on a personal journey of discovery as they tackle some of the most famous walking routes across the UK and Europe. In this series the Pilgrims go to Austria in Pilgrimage The Road Through the Alps.

Harry calls Nelufar a “rule breaker” and asks her why she’s still a Muslim. Nelufar describes what it means – to her – to be a modern Muslim. 

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Pilgrimage Moments: A Modern day Muslim

Harry:      You seem a bit like a rule breaker. So how do you overcome that in your faith? And essentially, why do you still believe in your God and why are you still Muslim?

Nelufar:   I've learned that the rules of my faith do not make a good Muslim because I'm rebellious, because I've chosen to modernise the faith. My faith lives on, and the only way that I can really do that is sometimes by bending, if not breaking the rules a little bit Harry so.

Harry:      Well, I'm like you, just in a different faith, so that's why I asked. That's why I said.

Nelufar:   The point is, Harry, that I make decisions for myself. You know, I've got a white atheist husband. You know, I'm a feminist. I'll go to the beach. I'll go for a swim. I don't wear the hijab, but no one can tell me I'm not a muslim because I tell me I'm a muslim.

Harry:      So would you say you're damned by now? And how do you. How do you bear that?

Nelufar:   Never shy away from asking the hardest questions on earth. Yeah, you keep cracking on. Am I damned? Yeah, I think so. But I don't know if I believe in the version of the God that would damn me for living the life that I pick.

 

Pilgrimage Moments: A Modern Day Muslim 

Video length - 01.39
Published date - May 2025
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

From the critically acclaimed BBC Two and iPlayer series Pilgrimage follows well known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs on a personal journey of discovery as they tackle some of the most famous walking routes across the UK and Europe. In this series the Pilgrims go to Austria in Pilgrimage The Road Through the Alps.

Nelufar talks with the Pilgrims about her discomfort that so many terrible things have been done in the name of religion. 

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Pilgrimage Moments: In the Name of Faith

Nelufar:   I often feel in conflict with my faith, so I. I don't know how to fit in and it kills me like it really bothers me inside. So I just, I think, I don't mean to be cynical and I am loving this dinner. I really, really am.

Helen:      What's your thing? That's the thing.

Nelufar:   On this table sits the Abrahamic faiths. Those of us who believe in them and those of us who don't. We have fought wars. We have killed. We have maimed. We have done terrible things to one another in the name of faith. And so I feel that I carry that for what's done in my name and in the the name of my faith. I feel like I carry that. I feel responsible for it.

Daliso:     I have a question. Do you feel these terrible things done in the name of faith? Were the intention of the faith or perversion of the faith?

Nelufar:  I don't think it matters.

Daliso:     Do you think Christ is a fan of people killing in his name? Do you think Muhammad is a fan of people killing his name? My point is, I think it's humans get this beautiful thing, which is faith, which is messages of love. But we're still humans, and there's still politics, and they're still wanting to conquer each other.

Nelufar:   Jeff has no faith. He has messages of tolerance. Faith doesn't determine that. Right? And sometimes.

Daliso:    That's not what I said either.

Nelufar:   I know but.

Daliso:     I would say.

Nelufar:   I'm getting really anxious now.

Daliso:     Do you think? Which is fine. We go to all the emotions.

Jeff:          We're all in this together. Don't worry.

Daliso:     We can go to. We can go to Joy. We can go to discomfort.

Nelufar:   My point is how can any of us not feel as though terrible things have been done in our name? Look that's the point is, it's not the vibe for dinner.

Stef:         Actually, it does hurt when I hear you say, talk about Christian faith and the awful things that have been done because awful things have been done. But I don't think that that is because of Jesus. Because if you look at that message, his message was love. And we have perverted that. And part of the Christian faith is actually that people are broken. Every single one of us is broken. And I just think so many of these messages have been twisted by us. And actually, it's about getting back to what did these texts say?

Pilgrimage Moments: In the Name of Faith

Video length - 02.41
Published date - May 2025
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Where do we come from? Humanists UK’s new schools video with Alice Roberts tells the scientific story of our origins, from the Big Bang, through the evolution of stars, planets, life, and, ultimately, us, revealing what we are made from and how we are connected to the rest of the living world. This short but beautiful animation highlights the wonder in this story that humanists (and others) might draw on as a source of inspiration, meaning, and value in their lives.

https://understandinghumanism.org.uk/

Billions of years ago, the whole universe was packed tightly together, smaller than a grain of sand. Then suddenly, bang! It got bigger. Much bigger and very, very fast. In this early universe, there were atoms, the tiny building blocks that would build almost everything else. Gravity pulled the atoms together. Millions, billions, trillions of them. And made the stars and the atoms inside the stars smash together, releasing heat and light in the hearts of the stars. New atoms formed bigger but still ever so small. New building blocks that in time would go on to build new things. Things like you. You are made from stardust. But stars don't last forever.

They grow bigger and bigger then collapse and explode. Throwing atoms out across the universe. Until gravity pulls them together again to make new stars. Stars like our sun and planets. One of which is very special to us. Earth. Our home. At first the Earth was lifeless and boiling hot, but in the depths of the oceans, something sparked a few chemicals built from those atoms that had been formed in the stars began to make copies of themselves. The beginning of life. Life was very simple for a long time, just single, tiny cells. But over time, life changed slowly at first. Each generation a little different from the last.

Like children, are a little different from their parents. And over millions of years, many, many small changes can lead to big changes. Life exploded into millions of brilliant and beautiful new forms, branching in many different directions, adapting to environments, evolving over time. We are related to every other living thing on the planet. Plants and fungi. Worms and insects. Fish. Amphibians. Reptiles. Mammals. Primates. Apes. Humans. You. Thinking. Feeling. Choosing. Caring. Dreaming. Wondering. You. Such simple ingredients. Such wondrous results. You're lucky to be here. If any one event in this chain had happened differently, then you might not have made it.

We are all a part of this story. We all belong to it. How incredible that we're able to look back and tell this story, to answer our questions about where we come from. To see the evidence all around us. The story is not yet complete. We don't know everything. But if we keep looking, we'll learn more. Maybe you can help.

Where do we come from?

Video length - 03.24
Published date - Feb 2025
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Two people from different backgrounds meet in a busy city. They each face their own problems and deal with society’s judgments, but they form an unexpected friendship. The film shows how, despite their differences, they share many things in common. Through strong acting and a touching story, “Human Me Human You” conveys a powerful message about empathy, connection, and our common desire to be understood.

Human Me Human You

Video length - 06.14
Published date - Jul 2024
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

One Life, Live it Well, featuring Alice Roberts, explores the humanist approach to living a fulfilling life. Comparing our lives to a piece of string, with a beginning and an end, this short animation emphasises the ways non-religious people might shape what lies in between and find happiness and meaning in their lives. Highlighting the arts, science, health, relationships, and human rights as the ingredients of a good life, it explores the importance humanists place on freedom, responsibility, and connections, and how they believe we might live life to the fullest and leave something behind after we are gone.

https://understandinghumanism.org.uk/

One Life, Live it Well

Video length - 02.36
Published date - Jul 2024
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Grmalem, a 25-year-old from Eritrea, recounts his harrowing journey of escape from compulsory military service and economic hardship. Leaving his homeland at 14, he embarked on a perilous five-month odyssey through Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, Italy, France, and finally to the UK. Facing inhumane conditions from smugglers in the Sahara to a treacherous sea voyage, Grmalem eventually found refuge in the UK, where he lived in foster care, discovering his passion for art and education. Despite ongoing challenges and discrimination, Grmalem dedicates himself to supporting others and raising awareness about the refugee experience, hoping for a future where empathy and humanity prevail.

Refugee Stories: Grmalem

Grmalem: My name is Grmalem. I'm 25. I'm from Eritrea. The reason I had to leave Eritrea is mainly politically economic and education. I was turning about 14, and I knew I'm gonna have to face this same story as my uncles, my dad and my sisters and all the village who has to join the military army. My dad did not have any income or salary from the government, and his whole life was serving the government. And that was not something I was planning to do for my future. And the only thing was like to run and escape the country. So this many reasons is that I have to live and change my family's future and change my future. One day I just said I'm leaving. I don't told anybody I can't because it's risky. I had to leave at night with one friend and we don't even know where we go. We don't have any torch. We don't have any lights, you know. I wasn't scared, I wasn't I wasn't scared. I was like, no, let's do it, let's, let's. It's because it's more scared. What I left is, uh. I prefer to die. My story. My journey takes five months. Stepping in my journey from Eritrea to Ethiopia, from Ethiopia to Sudan, from Sudan to Libya, from Libya to Italy, from Italy to France, from France to here. Every step I take was really, really hard and difficult. In the Sahara Desert, there were smugglers. They were kept us like really unhuman, holding guns like they ready for a war, feeding us as an animal as well. So all our life was theirs. We only give them the breath and they, they, they control the body.

 

I don't know how many days and nights were spent on the sea, but we spent more than a week. And the sea doesn't motivate you to survive. The sea never ever motivated. Really hard memories I have is people shouting from underground of the boat, vomiting as well, like people. So much vomiting. And just because so many, all the dead seaweed and fish and everything is so disgusting. I saw people come in to us in very small boat. They moved us to a bigger ship. Very, very, very, very, very big. It's like towns. It's bigger than any town I ever seen. Now. In Calais. There was a camp and people were there like for two and a half years and three years trying to go to England. We tried days and nights. I tried in every way of the lorry. I tried in everywhere of the car and we get fined every time we get tried everywhere. We fined by police. Police dog, uh, by scanned and oh, in Calais, the worst thing was the spray they spray in your eyes. And it was more than a gun surely. It was really hurt. This is where the point, I said. You call me illegal? I am legal because there is no legal rights. So I have to figure out my own legal because there were no other options, that is. But a day came. The minute came. The hours came. My I was scared. A lorry was stopped next to where I was lying in the grass. I was like, okay, let's try in this place again.

 

So I have to climb to the top of the lorry. I climbed there and tied myself really tiny and get to the UK. Junction 11, Folkestone to Ashford. He parked there. That 14 years I've been living not existed. Sorry. My best days start counting from the day of landing in the UK. I feel safe. I said. This is it. And later on. The police find me. I don't know where. And they took me to the police station and they took me to there. I think now it's called a transfer scheme. They took me to put me in the system like a refugee system. I lived in foster care for seven years with my foster carer. My super, super, super hero. And they foster in me how to be human. And they taught me that everything. What is I have now and who I am going to be. My foster carer, we couldn't communicate it. She came really wisely, said, can you please start telling me story how you came. And she gave me a pencil and a paper. And then I start drawing. Instead of writing. My first drawing was the boat, our boat and the small boat. They came in to risk us. It was that and she was like, wow, I saw that in the TV. She was saying, he came this way. And that's our first conversation with my foster mum. And since then she started buying me a canvas. Precious. All these stores, all the stores fill up. And I say to myself, I'm. I'm gonna be sure I make her proud to finish university and get graduated in art. And which is, I'm in my third year to graduate this year. So I love them and I see the love they gave me. And they are my parents and I call them mum and dad. The word refugee mean to me. It feels like illegal. It feels like. Not human.

 

It feels like separation. I do feel discrimination when people call me illegal refugee, come illegal asylum. I mean, when people called. You here and we can't find council house and they thinking we are taking their houses. That is when I feel really discrimination and it just doesn't make sense. It doesn't make me anything but me. Trying to help, trying to work, trying to do my best I can with supporting my family, with supporting others next to me. I wish and hope I can help people. I've been doing two years supplying teacher, helping the next generations to support in school, and I'm also working as a youth ambassador at KRAN. I joined KRAN to help young people, which I love to help people. When I am around people and we raise awareness of the young people, we go to school, talk about us, our journey, talk about our experience and expectation. I'm not leaving people who stop leaving their countries. Or maybe a war is going to stop forever, so people will live and I will support. And that is my hope. That's my wish to support, to be a human, to have empathy, to work hard until the day I die.

 

Refugee Stories: Grmalem

Video length - 09.52
Published date - Jun 2024
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
Downloadable resources

Sixteen-year-old Olha’s life in Ukraine is shattered by war, forcing her to flee to Poland with her younger brother. As she navigates the fear and uncertainty of being a refugee, she is touched by the kindness of strangers. Despite the chaos, Olha clings to her dreams of returning home and helping to rebuild her country, finding solace in her favorite book and music.

Refugee Stories: Olha

Olha: My name is Olha and I'm 16 years old, I'm from Ukraine. Now I'm living in Ivano Frankvisk City with my mum, dad and younger brother and my dog. I started learning taekwondo at first class of the school. Um, because I think it's it's great to to do sports and you can improve yourself. It gives me positive, only positive emotions. I can go to the competition and win some rewards. And it's it's great feeling. Before the war, I want to compete and get a black belt. But now I can't do this and I'm just staying at at one level. After the beginning of the war. I hear very loud noises and I. I realised that my parents are not at home. Uh, only me and my younger brother and my dog. Uh, my mum calls me and tell you should take your, uh, warm things and your, uh, items of clothes and your brother and you and documents. And you should go to the basement. And then they said to me that I should went to the Poland with my brother, with my grandparents. When I come to Poland, I met, uh, a lot of refugee who was living just at the bus station or train station. And when I understand that, I'm a refugee, too. I was so scared. It means just, um, other people in other countries. This word is so symbolic to me. When you are a refugee, you move to another country. And you don't know anything about that, about, uh, people, about nature or culture and etc and you don't know where you should go, where you should leave, what you should to eat. But, um, when I moved to Poland, there are a lot of people, very kind people who just help us. When it starts, everybody thinks that not long it will be maybe two weeks, maybe one month. I hope that it would stop so, so quickly, but I know it. It wouldn't. The main reason why they start war. They want to take our part of Ukraine just to expand their territory. When the war starts, leave Ukraine and went to Poland. But now I'm here in Ukraine and I don't want to leave it anymore. So I hope I would live here.

 

I would work here and build my future here in Ukraine. I have words to describe this feeling. When you can't do your normal routine, your normal things that you do before. Now me and my friends and my parents and my younger brother. We can't just, just walk. Just be happy like it was before the war. Because we can we can sit at the restaurant and we can hear that alert. Before War we was so cheerful, but now I can't. I can see people happy. I can see people love laughing. And I think it's just war because our people, they think only about war. How to stop it? I feel so scary. Especially when it's at night when you're sleeping and you just sleep normally and you, you hear this alert, this loud noises, and you can't continue your sleep, your dream, but you just should to go to the basement and sleep there. It feels so, so scary when I hear the alerts I take also my book, my favorite book. And also I take my headphones, headphones, music and books helps me to reduce my stress level. My school is located at city center and that too many schools opposite next to my school. And it's terrifying to study at city center because attacks can be also at our city. We just go to the basement and that's all our backpacks, our jackets, our all our things. We are leaving them at our classes. Of course, I see my future in the Ukraine because I want to rebuild our country and I hope that, um, the future of Ukraine will be so good and fantastic and we will be the most kind country. And I hope that Ukraine will stop the war and we get back our territory. And all of it, uh, would stop. Of course, I love to cry. It's my country, my loved country. I don't want to leave my my Ukraine.

Refugee Stories: Olha

Video length - 06.53
Published date - Jun 2024
Keystage(s) - 3 and 4
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