For Ukrainian students at Winnipeg school, Remembrance Day isn't only about past conflicts

For Daniil Loyko, Remembrance Day is more than a time to reflect on past sacrifices — it's a time to reflect on the sacrifices soldiers are making right now in his home country. 

The 13-year-old is one of 122 newcomer Ukrainian students enrolled at Winnipeg's Ralph Brown School — more than a third of the school's total student population — who participated in an annual Remembrance Day ceremony Friday. 

"It is important. It is our side. We need to remember the guys who fight for us, who give our freedom," he said. 

"It is the same how it was 100 years ago in First World War, how it was 70 years ago in Second World War."

Loyko moved to Winnipeg in January after fleeing Ukraine with his parents and sister. 

"We had amazing, beautiful life. We built plans [for the] future. But in one scared night … it all broke," he said.

Loyko recalls going into a basement with the rest of his school "and sitting for six, seven hours," waiting for alarms to stop.

After one attack, his family was left without electricity or water for three days, he said. That's when they made the decision to leave the country. 

They chose Canada because of its support of Ukraine, said Loyko.

"We are thankful for all people who helped us."

When asked what he would say to children who may not understand Remembrance Day, he said "they need to understand the importance of this."

"They need to understand what soldiers give.…  They can go in school, their grandmas or granddads [live] near their family, they have all they need, they don't [live] in another country," he said.

'I need to start my life again'

Before Russia's invasion began in February 2022, he thought he would have a good future in Ukraine.

But now, "I'm in Canada, and I need to start again, again, again, again. I'm in new school, I have new friends — I need to start my life again," he said.

The Remembrance Day ceremony at Ralph Brown — a school in the St. John's neighbourhood that has 135 students enrolled in its English-Ukrainian bilingual program — featured music, visuals and speeches that incorporated elements of Ukrainian culture.

Following the playing of The Last Post, the ceremony closed with the school's Ukrainian choir singing a powerful song of hope.

Loyko says the song tells the story of soldiers who are not afraid of anything and are fighting for freedom. 

"It is strong. It is about our power of our nation," he said. 

Principal Trevor MacVicar says many of his school's students have lived through traumatic experiences.

"The stories that we hear are families that have spent time in bomb shelters, families that hear the sirens," he said.

That means for the Ukrainian students, "we have to be very mindful when we do have our fire drills, what the alarms mean — how to explain that to them," he said.

The school's hallways are lined with artwork representing Ukrainian culture. Many of the staff are from Ukraine or have Ukrainian heritage. 

For students from Ukraine and their families, it can be a sense of comfort to be understood in their language and represented at school, said MacVicar.

"Even though they're coming from a war experience, they're finding community and connection and joy here," he said.

For this week's ceremony, the school worked with its students to bridge the understanding of Remembrance Day.

For Canadian-born students, "war sometimes doesn't feel almost real if we haven't had that experience. And yet they're walking alongside other students that are coming from … countries that have experienced war," said MacVicar. 

"And then for the Ukrainian students, we have to let them know why we're doing this, that we are honouring their country and their freedom that the soldiers are fighting for."