SHAVELL Peart will gather her grandchildren around her one day and relate the most terrifying experience she has ever had. The 21-year-old will tell them how Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022 — while she was asleep.

Peart, a first-year student of Kharviv International Medical University, told the Jamaica Observer that a room-mate woke her screaming “Bombs!”

And even today, four days after returning to her homeland, Peart told the Sunday Observer she has trouble sleeping and indicated that therapy may be the next step.

“Just hearing the pigeon flapping its wings triggers everything,” she revealed.

“Everything was all a shock. I am a Jamaican; I am used to gunfire to know that I must lay down on the ground or don’t go outside. I am not used to bombs; I wasn’t prepared for that experience,” she said.

Amid the panic she said it was communicated in a group, which all the Jamaican students were in, that everyone was heading to a bunker for safety. Peart, disoriented, followed suit and left everything behind.

“I had some Jamaicans in my dorm. It was just all a scare; I’m not going to lie, I did not process anything. All I knew was that I had to move to safety. I didn’t have time to process anything at all. I was just scared.

“Everyone was situated in different locations. Most persons were gathered in the same city, but different locations in the city. We do have a WhatsApp group so, if we’re making any move, we communicate to say ‘Okay guys, this person is going underground or this person is lost’ so we’re [always] aware of where each person’s location is.”

This was before 5:00 am. Explosions echoed through the city, alarms rang loud, and black smoke blanketed the already dark sky.

Peart, a Convent of Mercy Academy, Alpha graduate, said they waited for about two hours until the bombings subsided and, along with roommates, journeyed to the bunker in faith. When they arrived, other Jamaican students were there and they stayed there overnight.

“There was no shoving, but it was really packed. At the time when we went underground, a curfew was established. The president did say that due to the Russian troops and the gunfire we weren’t supposed to leave the underground metro or shelters, so we stayed there from the night until like 6:00 am or 7:00 am the next day. It was approximately 12 hours. We slept on the floor on the hard steps,” she told the Sunday Observer, noting that they had access to running water.

But cellphone reception was weak and many students couldn’t get Internet connection. While inside, they could hear multiple explosions and gunfire. Despite that, some students went outside occasionally to contact their families in Jamaica.

When they left the bunker, they could hear distant explosions. Peart said the students stuck together and awaited a train. It was a long, terrifying wait.

“When we went to the train station, the train was supposed to arrive 12:30, but it didn’t. Then 12:30 turned into 3:00, and 3:00 turned into 4:00, then 4:30. When the train finally arrived and we were about to board it, a bomb dropped close to the train station,” she recalled.

“At first, people weren’t really moved by it because we got used to the sound of explosions. But when we saw the train station shaking and smoke in the air, we knew that it was close. We just started running. We just ran for shelter. Even being under the bunker, the bunker was shaking so we knew that it wasn’t good outside.”

Peart told the Sunday Observer that the thought never crossed her mind that she could’ve been killed while travelling across the war-torn city.

“I don’t think it’s something that I could’ve done by myself. It’s only God. Majority of the journey, I kept calm; I kept going. I was always praying along the way. Always.”

When they finally got on a train last Friday this reporter made contact with another student, Kavaun Chambers, who was sitting beside Peart.

At the time, Chambers thought she was asleep.

Peart explained: “I closed my eyes, but I wasn’t sleeping. I was thinking about how the train was not underground so even if there was a missile, what assurance did we have that it wouldn’t be towards us. I was there trying to convince myself that I need to sleep and relax. I asked myself how was I going to trod the journey if I am tired.

“A lot was going through my mind. Everyone was sleeping at one point, and I started Googling what to do if a train gets bombed and how to exit. I was trying to find the nearest exit. It was crazy.”

Peart added that the train ride lasted more than 24 hours, even though it was supposed to be only eight hours.

“I remember it re-routing many times. The train commanders wouldn’t tell us what was the reason, but we’re smart people. It seemed as if along the route something happened, or maybe the location was compromised or something. There were even moments when the train would just stop and not move. So, we would just be there. I figured that they did not want us to panic, because if we were panicking maybe people would’ve wanted to leave the train. I was a bit scared.”

On the train she reminisced on the life she had just started to build as a young woman.

“I had my carry-on and in that were only clothes to keep me warm, like sweatpants, tights, long sleeves. I started my life there. I had a stove, microwave, a lot of clothes, gadgets, everything you could think of when you’re just starting out in life.”

When the train arrived at Lviv it was night, with sirens and alarms blaring. Only five people could disembark the train at a time.

Peart said police and soldiers on the streets escorted Ukrainian citizens to a specific area.

“It was a bit scary because it was dark. We had never been to Lviv so we didn’t know how to navigate or make our way around that area. But we found shelter for the night. We stayed in someone’s office,” she said.

The following day, the students split in two groups and boarded two buses with hopes of reaching the Polish border. But the bus Peart was on was attacked by angry citizens, forcing them to exit.

“My bus got attacked by civilians. I remember the other bus went ahead and we were behind. The civilians came out in the road and fought our driver with a baton and they tried to open the doors to pepper spray us; they tried to take us out the vehicle,” she said.

“We were just there cursing because this is not our war to fight. We were like ‘Why are international people being bothered and trapped in this situation when we have the right to leave this country?’ I’m not sure if the civilians felt as if us going ahead will push the other Ukrainians to the back of the line, but they wanted us to walk; they didn’t want us to pass them. They kept taking people out of their cars and fighting them,” she went on.

Eventually, the students disembarked the bus. The bus that was ahead stopped and the other students joined them.

“They came back and we started walking. It was snowing, raining; it was a lot. We fed on sardines like cats. It wasn’t the easiest.”

They walked for nine hours and experienced winter-like conditions, with temperatures as low as 3°C.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Kamina Johnson Smith had announced that two students fell ill because of the cold and had to be treated in an ambulance. Peart was one of those students.

At that time her aunt, Nicole Senior, who had been contact with her, was unaware.

“I haven’t heard anything new,” Senior had said, adding that when she first heard that the students had to walk she felt, “just absolute terror and helplessness”.

When they finally reached the border, Peart said, “It felt really, really good to know that we were safe, to know that we were not in danger and to know that we were far from danger. Even though Ukraine was close by, we were still far from danger.”

They took a two-day reprieve in Poland and Peart said the rest was well needed.

“It was reasonable. We had just walked and went through all that stuff. They gave us the chance to rest.”

After that, the students transitioned through Germany to get to Jamaica because some students didn’t have a US visa, Peart added.

“It wasn’t a very long layover,” she said.

She recalled that on the flight to Jamaica everyone was sleeping at one point and she tried to close her eyes, but couldn’t.

“I sat near the wings, and just hearing the plane brought me back to all the trauma. I could not close my eyes.”

When the plane landed at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, on Wednesday, March 2 she said it was bittersweet. Though she was happy, she worried about her studies.

“I was happy to see my loved ones. I was like ‘Alright, I am back home.’ I was supposed to be happy, but I was like, ‘What next?’ We invested a lot of time and a lot of money. A lot was lost. I was in the second semester of my first year… a lot of studying and sleepless nights,” she said.

Her family wasn’t at the airport waiting, and the Government provided transportation to get students to their homes.

She got home to a royal welcome — a welcome home party that caught her off guard.

“They surprised me. I was speechless. I am not really an emotional person so it wasn’t tearful,” she said, laughing.