Elyse is a senior majoring in international studies with a co-major in global and intercultural studies and a minor in Middle East, Jewish, and Islamic studies. Her research interests include the geopolitics of borders and migration, colonialism in North Africa, and gender and identity in how it relates to forced migration. Her current research as a Geoffrion fellow focuses on gender dynamics in the Syrian refugee camp, Za’atari, in Jordan. She contributed to, with the support of the Myaamia Center, the Myaamia Forced Removal portion of this project.

This Moscow News article chronicles the arrival of the children seeking refuge in the Soviet Union. The article details how the children were transported from Northern Spain into Leningrad (St.Petersburg) where they were greeted by local youth leaders and state representatives. The children were provided clothing, toys, as well as doctors and housing before being enrolled in local schools where lessons were taught primarily in Spanish. Similar articles from the Moscow News, a Russian-based newspaper for english readers, emphasized the state’s treatment of these children, being sure to frame the program as both a humanitarian effort and an example of multiculturalism within the Soviet state.

This article, written by Helen Kononsenko, details the ways Soviet and Spanish children interacted. Later, the article looks at the traumatic experiences of Spanish refugees and how they are being handled while living in the Soviet Union.