October 2022 Student Spotlight: Julia Kozak

Julia Kozak came to the United States in July 2022 after fleeing Ukraine with her husband and young son. In Ukraine, she was a municipal lawyer. At MCC, she is focusing on improving her English skills in the Strong Foundations ESOL Program. In “The Horrible Unforgettable Day,” Julia tells us her story of the day of the Russian airstrike on Ukraine.

The Horrible Unforgettable Day

Have you ever been woken up by an air alert? It’s terrifying, believe me. It was February 24, 2022. This date I will never forget. Before this day, I was living an almost perfect life with my lovely husband and clever son. Yes, I was the happiest woman. However, this great life was crushed.

I jumped up from bed with the biggest shock. I ran quickly to the window, and it was true, the air alerts were going off so loudly in our streets.

Next, I ran to find my mobile phone, and I saw how many missed calls were there. Oh, my husband called me more than thirty times! Immediately, I called him back.

“Julia, where was your phone? Are you and David all right?” he asked me. He was away on a business trip for work.

“Yes, we are good. I don’t understand anything. What happened?” I responded to him so confused.

“Julia! The war! Russia invaded Ukraine!” He continued, “Don’t stay near the windows. Wait for me inside the bathroom. It’s the most safely place in the apartment. I am on my way.”

Then I threw my phone down to the floor and my face became pale and anxious.

“Is this real?” I questioned myself. I was so confused.

Also, I had so many missed calls from my sister, my mum. I called my sister back. She responded to my call immediately.

“Hi, Alina. How are you? Are you and the family safe?” I asked her.

“No, Julia! The airport near us has been bombed! I saw real rockets! Bombs! Military aircrafts are everywhere. Sister, I'm very scared…We will take some clothes and will move to Chervonohrad,” she answered.

“Okay, be careful and take care of yourself. We will come to our parents in Chervonohrad, too. See you there.” I ended the call and tried to control myself.

Chervonohrad is a city on the west side of Ukraine, near the border with Poland. Our parents lived there. When I finished my call, I remembered what my husband told me to do. I had to put my son into the bathroom.

I asked myself, “How can I do it? He is still sleeping. How can I do that?”

That loud air alarm was doing terrible things to my brain. It was creepy. Surprisingly, my little son slept strongly and he didn't hear those loud alert noises. So, I put him into a fleece blanket and picked him up and moved him into the bathroom. I put my sleepy boy inside the bathtub because the bathroom has the thickest walls, and if a bomb hit our house, we would have a chance to survive.

It was not a joke. It was a horrible reality. All morning the invaders were shelling residential neighborhoods, airports and infrastructure in many cities and districts of our state. In that moment, my brain really began to understand the situation. I started crying.

Next, my idea was to turn on my TV, and all channels showed the same. There was our President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It was very essential to hear what he told Ukrainian citizens.

“Ukrainians, The Russian Federation started a full-scale invasion in Ukraine. There is an air alert in all Ukraine territory. Please, move to the safe shelters. It’s very important,” the President pleaded, and continued, “We will fight for our freedom, our future, our children, because one who is on the side of light will never fall into darkness of slavery.”

I started crying again. Precisely, war had started. I was so proud of the brave Ukrainians, who were fighting for our freedom. But also, I was so disappointed how many lives this war would take.

My husband called me again, “Julia, I must take you and David out of Ukraine for your safety.”

“What do you mean? Where?” I was shocked.

“I will explain later, pack some clothes in to the luggage. In a few minutes I will be home,” he ended.

I was wandering from one room to another, and asking myself, “What am I supposed to do? What should I put into the luggage? Where will we go? How long will it take?” But I didn’t find any answers.

The air alert didn’t stop all that time, and it made me become more stressed and panicked. My son David woke up from my noise wandering between rooms. He was perplexed.

“Mum, what are you doing? What is that strange sound outside?” he asked me. His eyes looked at me confusedly.

“David, we are preparing for a little trip,” I responded, and hugged him with all my love. My tears came out again.

“Okay, mummy. I want to take my favorite doggie toy,” he said.

“Of course, my love,” I answered him, and in this moment, somebody knocked on the door.

I went to open the door and, in my mind, there were many options of who it could be. Was it a thief or neighbor or somebody who needed help? There was a panic among all the people. Everyone could do strange things. In our apartment were only me and my son.

“It’s me, darling. Open the door. We don’t have too much time,” spoke a familiar voice from the corridor.

Finally, I saw my husband in the front of our door. I was very happy to see him. I hadn’t seen my husband for only one day. But these few hours without him, without his strong brain, seemed terrible. He was so serious. “We must take enough warm clothes. Are you ready?” he asked with a focused and detached mind. “Julia, it is my duty is to take you and our son to a safe place, but unfortunately, in Ukraine, there is no such place now,” he explained.

In that moment, I understood that we must to take our child to a safe place, and we had to take care of him. Careers, apartments, cars, everything was unimportant. Only the safety of our son was important. It was our responsibility. We packed only our warm clothes and left our apartment. Even then, I didn’t imagine that it was our last morning in our home.

ESOL Voices a collection of stories written by ESOL students at Monroe Community College. This publication highlights our MCC students who come from all over the world. Look for new stories in the Tribune. We hope you enjoy our students’ stories as much as we do.

Katie Leite & Pamela Fornieri, ESOL Program, October 2022