When Mardhzina left her home on the outskirts of Kyiv to shield her family from the war, the 41-year-old single mother hoped she would be returning quickly to Ukraine. A year later, she is now considering a future in France, while keeping a close eye on her home country's fate.
Mardhzina began learning French two months ago. In front of her school, located in the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers, the Ukrainian exile laughed about her difficulties integrating. "Foreign languages are not allowed in class, so when you arrive you don't understand anything," she said. "I tried to be sneaky at first by sitting next to a Ukrainian girl but the teacher immediately separated us!”
