Alla (64)

March 21, 2022, Bratislava. Day 25 of the war.

Alla told me that this was not the first time they had to flee their home. They have experienced it in the past. But now that she is 64 years old, she deserves quiet place, rest ... and peace. She deserves not to worry about her daughter, to be with her closest family and friends. She had to travel for three long days and nights to come to us. She has a place to stay for now, but she doesn't know what's next. She still doesn't know what her fate is going to be.

"We left Severodonetsk on March 5. There was a lot of shooting going on and we did not feel safe anymore. We traveled by train to Lviv for 30 hours, then we passed through Poland to Bratislava. My daughter was waiting here for me. There were more than 200 people on the train in our carriage alone. People were sitting or standing for 30 hours. Many volunteers welcomed us very nicely in Poland, as well as in Lviv. They offered us a place to sleep, the food, warmth. We waited, trying to warm up a little by the fire for another 12 hours at the border." 

"I can't even express words of thanks for what they're giving us here. Everyone helps us as much as they can. We are walking around the city and people are shouting "Glory to Ukraine!" We have not yet decided what we will do next, whether we will stay here or move on. We have to calm down first, think about everything." 

"We have arrived to Bratislava on March 8. We were able to travel for free in Europe, we also travelled through Prague. From there we went to Bratislava. We were finally able to sit comfortably on the train. My daughter is 43 years old, but for security reasons I can't say where she is at the moment. We have left everything at home - our apartment, friends, just about everything. We don't know what's happening with our place. All our friends have escaped from there, we can't even contact them, they are hiding in places where it is calmer, where there's no shooting yet." 

"We have a family in Russia, we have a lot of friends there. I would like them to think about their children, about our children, the grandchildren, I would like them to try to stop this war. Our grandfather died at Stalingrad during World War II. We fought for peace then, now we do not know what they are fighting for. I believe we will win! Glory to Ukraine!"