Xinxin Fang ‘24
With the Russian invasion and attacks on Ukrainian civilians, the safety of students on EA’s upcoming May Term trip has become a concern for some. However, students and teachers that are going believe that it’s still too early to decide, ultimately leaving the decision to cancel to Rustic Pathways, the touring agency, or EA.
Photo courtesy of euronews.com
Russia’s invasion into Ukraine is derived from Vladmir Putin’s belief that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people – a single whole.” He turns to history to enforce his point, stating that they are all “are all descendants of Ancient Rus” and are bound together by language and religion. Per CNBC, U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth predicts that the situation will only “get worse before it gets better, as it looks like the Russians are going to turn to some potentially brutal tactics”. As Daniel Fried, former ambassador of Poland, states, “We’re looking at World War II kinds of atrocities. Bombing of civilians, rocket fire and artillery, smashing cities, a million refugees; that what looked impossible before now looks within the realm.”
EA’s own trip to the Balkans includes visits to the countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The concern mainly arises from the area containing the Balkans and Ukraine being labeled as Easter Europe. However, Andrea Yu, EA Librarian and a faculty member leading the trip, feels “comfortable letting them (Rustic Pathways) lead our travel plans.” The travel coordinator, who lives in the Balkans, has helped Ms. Yu, by “being on the ground site to give an accurate picture” and the coordinator’s experience as someone who has lived through the Croatian Civil War further assures Ms. Yu.
In addition, there’s the concern of impacts on tourism. However, their travel agent has informed them that they will not be close to any refugee sites and will concentrate on tourist destinations. One experience is sitting down and talking with survivors of the Croatian Civil War. Ms. Yu believes that this will be “a good experience for students and for those that grew up in the United States that have never felt the emotions surrounding being on contested land.”
The choice to go to the Balkans depends on the Rustic Pathways and the school. They have the right to redirect the trip to another location and they exercised this during a Morocco trip in the early 2000s due to civil unrest. In one example, the travel company may decide to continue the trip despite the dangers, at which point, Ms. Yu says the school might follow the reasoning of “I understand you’re not going to make the call to cancel the trip, but we as a school need to cancel.” If additional liability forms were required, Yu believes EA would have to reconsider the trip altogether.
Families still have the choice to withdraw and a few students have already done so. Yu states, “As of today, there has been no penalty for families that withdraw. Unfortunately, we’re two months out so there are some financial costs we will have to consider. For example, we need to give legal names to the airlines. Changing that name would require a new ticket. If someone pulled out the day before, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where there are no financial penalties.”
Students are split on the safety of the trip as a whole. Thane Graham ‘22, who is going on the trip, says that it’s unnecessary to cancel, stating that “I believe the situation is evolving too quickly and evaluating it as it is, does not reveal much about the situation in two months.” However, Alaina Guo ‘22 believed that “because there was still a risk, my parents and I weren’t as comfortable letting me go on the trip. The decision was definitely made easier because I was happy to go on EA’s Taking It To The Streets May Term, and the transition process from one program to another was nice and simple.”