“Shadows de Sombras” Exhibition in Manchester

17.6.2024

The Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science and International Relations Maryna Rusanova spoke at the opening of the “Shadows de Sombras” exhibition in Manchester.

In the UK, Refugee Week is taking place from June 17 to 23, marking its 26th anniversary. Founded in 1998, it aims to recognize the merits of refugees and asylum seekers. This time also highlights their contributions, creativity and resilience in the face of adversity.

The University of Birmingham together with the University of Southampton organized the exhibition “Shadows de Sombras” on the basis of the Cervantes Institute in Manchester. This event draws inspiration from the story of Basque children forced to leave their homeland during the Spanish Civil War. He also talks about the tragedies of the Basque Country and Guernica. The city of Guernica was the historical and cultural center of the Basque Country. In 1937, one of the most terrible events in the history of the Spanish Civil War took place: the bombing of Guernica, as a result of which the city was completely destroyed.

Maryna Rusanova, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the Educational and Research Institute of Social and Humanitarian Sciences, spoke at the opening of the exhibition. She devoted her speech to the problem of refugees from Ukraine, talking about the Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University, which was forced to evacuate and start anew due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the occupation of the Luhansk region. The participants of the exhibition noted the historical parallels between the Basque tragedy and the current situation in Ukraine.

Department of Political Science and International Relations