14 • GCU TODAY
B Y C O O P E R N E L S O N
Peaceful
Waters
W
Swimmers from Ukraine,
Egypt find solace at GCU, but
worries about their countries’
strife still hit home
hen Illya Glazunov wants information on
the crisis in Ukraine, he’ll turn on the news or check Facebook. But he
tries not to think about his war-torn home.
A year ago, fighting broke out between pro-Russian separatists and the
Ukrainian military over the Crimean Peninsula to Ukraine’s southeast,
which had voted to join Russia. The United Nations reported that more
than 5,300 people had died in the conflict by the end of February.
Glazunov’s mother lives in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk,
where some of the heaviest combat has occurred. For him, remaining
oblivious to her plight and the fate of his homeland can be difficult.
“I don’t like to talk about home,” said Glazunov, a junior finance
major at Grand Canyon University. “When I call my parents, they’re
always talking about war and people dying. It’s always in your head.”
Glazunov, 22, is one of five GCU swimmers from Ukraine. GCU is
home to 72 international student athletes from 33 countries, ranging
from Australia to Kazakhstan to Canada, but few understand the strife
of the Ukrainians.
Glazunov arrived at GCU in advance of the 2013 season, just a few
months before the fighting and protests began. His busy schedule
and poor Internet connection between Phoenix and Donetsk make
communications with his family difficult. He is able to talk with his
father in Russia every couple of weeks but hears from his mother and
younger brother less often. Anxiety over their safety is a daily reminder of
the turmoil at home.
Last summer, Glazunov was living in Seattle when he received
Facebook notifications of bombings in Donetsk. Separatists were
attempting to take control of the city’s airport, near where his mother
lives. He frantically tried to reach her but couldn’t get through. Eventually,
his friends in Ukraine contacted her and relayed the news she was OK.
Glazunov said it was the scariest moment of his life.
Four other Ukrainian athletes — juniors Stanislav Saiko and Iegor
Lytvenok, sophomore Iryna Glavnyk and freshman Fedir Bolychev —
spend days or weeks unaware of what is happening to their country or
families. They rely on one another, sharing news from home, helping with
English and homework assignments and offering support when one of
them feels overwhelmed by the uncertainty.
Saiko, 22, came to GCU the same day as Glazunov and Lytvenok. His
family lives in Kirovograd, a central Ukraine city that is farther from the
GCU swimmers Mazen and Youssef Elkamash (far left and far right) of
Egypt lived through the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and understand the
strife of teammates Illya Glazunov (second from left) and Stanislav Saiko
of Ukraine, who are dealing with the current crisis in their home country.
photo by darryl webb
