Until February 24, I was a happy Ukrainian, living in my beloved hometown where I worked, loved, and made plans for the future. We went to the gym, took drawing classes, went kayaking, dancing.
I have four sons. On February 22, my oldest son started his first job! Day one. He was going to enroll into college in the summer. My second son was supposed to start high school after they both went to music school. In the spring our plan was to get some home improvement done, visit the Mykolaiv Zoo, and in the summer – take a trip to the seaside. These are small ordinary things, but losing them hurt the most. All the plans were left behind in the luggage that we couldn’t take with us when leaving Kherson.
On the night of February 23, I had trouble sleeping, I was very restless. At 7 a.m. we heard explosions: they were bombing the airport. When I recovered from the first shock, I went to my office to get the laptop. I quickly returned home and started searching for the nearest bomb shelter location, while working and reassuring my children and my mother. It turned out that animals were not allowed there, and as we have 2 cats and a dog, we chose to stay at home with them.
I was afraid to fall asleep at night or to go outside during the day. On March 2, Russian troops entered the city, Kherson was occupied. Prices tripled, stores were closed, it was very challenging to withdraw cash, you had to queue for 5-6 hours. But even then I didn’t think of leaving. And then men with machine guns showed up at our neighbor’s door to do a search. And then we heard reports of people gone missing. And then there were rumors about women raped in Kherson. It was only then that I started looking for transport. I was very afraid, for myself and for the children. I was afraid of going mad with fear.
We left on April 11 at 5 am. I was travelling with five children and a dog. My oldest son’s girlfriend came along with us – they just couldn’t bear the thought of being apart. I gathered our belongings very quickly and as if in a fog. By the look by things, you would have thought we were going away for three days. I hadn’t realized we were leaving for much longer. We had no idea how we would travel and where, so we just took backpacks with us. I only grabbed the strictly necessary things: some clothes, our phones. Out of the “useless” category the kids took some books with them and I packed two pairs of earrings. One I got from my dad before he died, and my favorite pair, the one I wore most of the time.
His mother, uncle, brother, wife and grandchildren stayed behind in Ukraine. They flat out refused to abandon their homes. I left a part of my soul with them. All I ask of God is to see them someday, to hug them, to talk to them.
We went to Odesa. It was clear us there were no safe places left in Ukraine, so we had to go abroad. Nobody was expecting us anywhere and we decided we would go to Odesa and then we would see.
(Photo on the road- from Odesa to Palanca.)
We did not choose Romania, Romania chose us. At first, we wanted to go further, as far away as possible, but we received such strong support from the government and the Romanian people that we decided to stay. Everywhere we went, Romanians hearing us talk would say “Ukraine? Bravo!”
Dear Romanians, you give us your smiles at the supermarket checkouts and in cafés. You point us in the right direction, you use hand gestures to tell us the prices at the produce markets, which tomatoes are the best and how to use vending machines. You teach us your language and how to ride the metro. You embrace us with compassion, understanding and love. And we can never thank you enough for that.
When I left Ukraine, my life was taken from me. This is probably how a flower feels when it is cut down and put in a vase. They replace your water, they care for you, you seem alive and you even look good, but inside you are already dead. But Romania and its people gave me back the hope for a future and breathed a new life into me. Every day we pray for Romania and thank God for bringing us here.
Story donated by Anastasia Yermakova to the Museum of Abandonment as part of the Suitcases of Abandonment campaign. Project funded by CARE through the Sera Foundation, Care France and FONPC.
