A horrifying account of how a brave African student (Arc de Gloire Mapouka) survived the Russian bombing of Ukraine in the most challenging moments of his life as an international student from the Central African Republic.
The French media report, Field Report RFI, aired Arc de Gloire Mapouka’s horrifying story saying…”Hunger, cold and fighting were not the only difficulties he encountered …he spent four days without eating” was arrested by military men at the border. His ordeal was a painful experience as he walked unknown lands and roads without a map all day and night. Left with no choice, he mustered up his courage to face the unknown.
How did this start in the first place…?
Arc de Gloire Mapouka was a student in Ukraine before the war. He had traveled to Ghana in 2019 to study the English Language as a Francophone from the Central African Republic and perfected it, then started a Professional Qualification Programme all in Pinnacle College, a tertiary institution in Ghana.
While studying for the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM-UK) Accounting and Finance examination as faith will have it, he gained admission for further studies in Ukraine and moved in 2021 hoping to attain his dream of becoming an Agricultural Economist.
Alas, the Ukraine-Russia long-standing conflict resurrected on 24th February 2022 threatening his life and dreams as a young African. What will you do, hearing bombs explode, land, and shake the very foundation of your residence in a foreign land? Will you brave it, be scared and give up?
This is how the French media (Field Report RFI) captured the exact ordeal Arc de Gloire Mapouka went through to survive.
In Ukraine, Arc de Gloire Mapouka experienced the war to the rhythm of all Africans. Isolated, without an action plan or an emergency number to contact, he mustered up his courage to face the unknown.
Arc de Gloire Mapouka was sleeping when the February 24 bombings began.
Very quickly, he decides to leave his apartment and his friends, heading for Poland. But at the border post on the Ukrainian side, he was arrested by soldiers.
“After three days at the border, I made the decision to cross. I walked all night. In the early morning, I met a Ukrainian girl, to whom I explained my situation. I told her that I am a student and I want to go to Poland to get to safety”.
He will finally be allowed to pass, but the crossing is an ordeal. Hunger, cold, and fighting were not the only difficulties he encountered.
“I spent four days without eating. I have a little money on me, but there was practically nothing to buy. Several thousand people were there, and it was complicated for me”.
Arc de Gloire finally chose to join a friend of his brother in France. Shocked, he now only wants one thing: to stay in France.
“I am in the process of my documents because it is difficult to live without papers in France. I am not a migrant and to continue my studies, I must have documents”.
The student filed his asylum application in Laon last Tuesday.
Sharing his triumph in the trying times with the President of Pinnacle College, Mr. Wisdom Hammond, Arc de Gloire Mapouka stressed that, his early exit from Ukraine played a key role in his success. He was encouraged in by the President to keep his focus and use the challenges and success he has achieved as stepping stones to work hard towards his educational and professional development. “My Strongman (Arc de Gloire Mapouka) has proven his courage is not a mere puff”, the president indicated while recounting the braveness Arc de Gloire Mapouka showed while at Pinnacle College which earned him that name.
