The Sunday Mail
Leroy Dzenga
Senior Reporter
WHEN Jonathan Mukurazhizha walked through the arrival terminal at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, he could barely contain himself.
The 27-year-old had not been home for five years and his body yearned for the Zimbabwean sun.
But ultra-violet rays and their warmth were the least of his worries the moment he cleared the last customs’ hurdle.
All he wanted was to sink into his mother’s embrace, a thought he had held since embarking on a 12 000-kilometre flight from the German capital of Berlin.
“When I was on the flight, all I wanted was to see my family. I could not wait to touch down,” Mukurazhizha told The Sunday Mail in an interview at their Belvedere home last week.
At long last he was safe, in a place of familiar voices, far from volatile Ukraine where he is studying Medicine at the Ternopil National Medical University.
The city of Ternopil is 436 kilometres from the capital Kiev.
“It was on a Thursday when my friends in Kiev woke me up and told me there was a bombardment in the city. That is when I personally decided to go home, because there had been tension for two weeks,” he said.
Schools had been telling students to leave Ukraine if they wished, as the atmosphere was ominous.
Mukurazhizha had not considered the exit option, as Ternopil felt calm at the time. Life turned turbulent when Russia began a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 and events escalated.
When his friends came to pick him up from Kiev on February 25, he had only managed to pack a few of his belongings.
“Because of the relative unease of being unsure of what is going on, packing was really hazardous and fast. We just packed one or two bags with a few clothes and even left things like laptops. I just came with my phone. My friends told me things were bad and I had no reason to doubt them,” he said.
They went back to Kiev, before heading for Medyka where Ukraine shares a boundary with Poland.
“We decided to travel west to the Polish border, it was a distance of 92 kilometres. We bought a few supplies thinking it would be a two-hour drive as usual, like it used to be when we used to travel to the border. The congestion was bad, on bad days we managed to move only two kilometres per day. We ran out of supplies,” Mukurazhizha said. It took him and his three Zimbabwean friends from February 25 to March 2 to arrive at the Polish border.
“The weather was also bad, as it was really cold and as an asthmatic person that was a worry,” Mukurazhizha said.
They had to endure the gruelling traffic, others would abandon vehicles, but that was not a luxury he enjoyed due to his health. “When we got very close to the Polish border, we found a place where we could park our car. They said we can leave it and have our bill calculated when or if we eventually return.”
At the Polish border they were being separated by race, leaving their fate in the hands of the Polish authorities.
“When we got there we were not given an option to pick where you wanted to go. We were told to go into a certain bus that would take us to a refugee camp and to our knowledge, this refugee camp was about 700 kilometres from the Polish border,” said Mukurazhizha.
On the bus, he said, they were accompanied by armed police officers under strict monitoring.
“You would look outside and see Ukrainians getting hot drinks, coffee and blankets yet we were just stranded in a cold bus. They even refused us access to the toilet. As soon as we entered the bus, no one would be let out,” said Mukurazhizha.
During the whole journey, Mukurazhizha was in contact with Zimbabwe’s envoy to Germany, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, Ambassador Alice Mashingaidze, who was guiding him and others on how to navigate.
“We didn’t get to reach the refugee camp. Initially our Ambassador Mashingaidze helped us after we got into the bus. She was talking to police officers, but they refused her access to the bus. She told us to go to the refugee camp and she would collect us from there. The Embassy then engaged with other African embassies whose citizens were on the bus trying to find ways to rescue the situation.
“When we had travelled for quite a distance, the Ambassador of Ivory Coast came with his own bus and police officers. He told us that if we wanted to go to Berlin, we had to leave the bus and join him. I was not sure, so I called Ambassador Mashingaidze and asked her if I could go to Berlin. Ambassador Mashingaidze told me to go to Berlin as the Zimbabwean Embassy is stationed there and it would make everything easier,” said Mukurazhizha.
Ambassador Mashingaidze housed Mukurazhizha and other students in her house in Berlin.
“The Ambassador provided us with food, clothes and blankets. She was really helpful. The Embassy told us to provide passport details and in 20 minutes we had our tickets,” he said.
During his journey, Mukurazhizha was sending hourly updates to his worried family, assuring them of his safety.
He flew back to Zimbabwe at Government’s cost and he awaits further communication from his institution on how they will proceed.
“When we left, all Ukrainian institutions were instructed to stop teaching for two weeks. They had given us from the 28th of February to the 12th of March. You are thinking what is next, where will I complete this, how will I complete my programme? The plan was to rest for a week or so, and then try to figure out what is the next stage,” Mukurazhizha said.
Although they are following developments which will inform their next decision, his parents are not too worried about what the future holds.
“At this moment I am glad we have him here at home. We will deal with what lies ahead. As long as we know he is safe, everything else we can manage,” his mother, Mrs Margaret Mukurazhizha, said.
She said although they were following the news closely, events moved too fast for their comfort as a family.
“It was so sudden to us. Yes, there had been talk about the aggression between Russia and Ukraine. I could not sleep. After every five minutes, I sought updates. We started asking all sorts of questions. We kept asking him if he was able to leave,” said Mrs Mukurazhizha.
During the times of uncertainty, she said they sought solace in prayer.
“The whole night I would be awake checking on the phone for any communication. Fortunately, the Ambassador was very quick to open a Whats App group and we were apprised of so many things that were happening. Even when the children were complaining of the severe cold it was terrible. The conditions were against his health. But we thank the Embassy for taking care of everything from their welfare to their airfare,” Mrs Mukurazhizha said.
His father, Mr Jonathan Tichafa Mukurazhizha, said he had to tap into his cache of experience to guide their first born out of a potentially volatile environment.
“During his ordeal of moving, I checked on him every hour. Also, before the incursion started we had actually began to speak about it. I have a little bit of military experience so I told him what to pack and how to react in the event that it was blown out of proportion. I was worried about him getting into a war zone, if the war was to get to where he was. But in terms of moving to the border, I knew he would make it safely,” Mr Mukurazhizha said.
As a family they have been monitoring Jonathan to make sure that he is in a good headspace after a taxing experience.
“I have been speaking to him regularly about what happened and he appears to have handled the whole situation well,” Mr Mukurazhizha said.
Jonathan is among 256 students that the Zimbabwean Embassy in Germany under Ambassador Mashingaidze has evacuated from Ukraine.
Of the 256, 125 are already back in Zimbabwe, reunited with their families.
All travel expenses were funded by the Government of Zimbabwe.
