Evzenia (22)

April 10, 2022, Pruske. Day 45 of the war.

They were lucky. And they were prepared. These two variables helped them to survive the most difficult period. They lived not knowing what's going on without a mobile signal. They only became fully aware of the consequences of the war during the evacuation, when they could see with their own eyes the effects of the war on their city and its inhabitants. A 3-year-old may forget all that. But will they be able to forget it all as well? 

"My mother and I come from Mariupol. My mother was in Odessa during the war. During the conflict, I hid with my mother-in-law in a basement in Mariupol. There was only a minimal amount of fighting going on on our street. We did not have a mobile signal, therefore we did not know how serious the situation was in our city. We sat in the basement, not knowing that our city is gradually disappearing. We only saw it during the evacuation, when the streets we knew, where we went shopping or for a walk, were simply no longer there. We haven't been out on the streets in over three weeks. We always went to the basement during the air raid or when the explosions were heard. Fortunately, we were prepared. We had sufficient supplies of drinking water so we didn't have to melt the snow or collect rainwater like some other people did. We also had enough of food, the war affected us only minimally in this direction. We had enough semolina, flour. We ate the meat first, so that it wouldn't spoil. Then people started looting shops in the city, which we honestly did as well. That's where we had fish and other food from. We ate regularly. Other families ate only once every few days."

"We didn't get to know the outcome of the war with all its horrors until one of the rockets hit a nearby house in which the whole family died. We heard bombs explode. Some far, others closer. Our street is still practically existing, some neighbors have stayed there so far, they are already receiving humanitarian aid. I was in the basement with my father-in-law, my brother's wife and her son. We adapted the cellar so that we would not be cold. We brought mattresses and quilts in there. When they turned off the heating, we were warmer there than in the apartments. We had our well to get the water from, and other supplies. Even my niece haven't experienced any horrors. We explained to her that we had to go to the basement because some bad guys had an argument." 

"We lived by candle lights and flashlights for 3 weeks. We had an accumulator, so we didn't have darkness. When the candles finished, we collected the leftover wax and made another candle from it, that's how we saved up. During the day we cooked, cleaned. Instead of bread, we made pancakes and blini from flour, we cooked borscht. When there was no gas, nor heating, we cooked on the open fire. He lived day by day. We played board games, we had fun with my nephew, we simply survived, day after day. It was only after some time that we learned that humanitarian corridors were opening. You have no idea that something like this can happen when missiles fly over your head and when you hear gunfire in the distance. We found out about it by accident, we picked up a signal on the phone for a while. Neighbors told us about the open humanitarian corridor. They knew we had a baby and that we wanted to leave. We were immediately packed and took advantage of a moment when there was no fighting going on. We were a large group of mostly elderly people. We managed to leave the city safely, even though we were shot at, but nothing serious happened. We came to Birdyansk in two days. There were too many people at the check point, we couldn't wait in the cold somewhere in the field. Fortunately, we were allowed to sleep in a village close by. From there we went to Zaporizhia for 2 days and then to Lviv for another day. Overall, the trip to the border with Poland took us about a week. We were in Poland for 3 days and then we decided to go to Slovakia." 

"As we left, we saw the full extent of the war. The city we knew has disappeared. The streets did not exist, there were only ruins. In recent years, our city has really changed significantly and become a truly European city. It just doesn't exist now. We saw streets with a lot of corpses. We had to go straight through them so as not to accidentally step on unexploded cartridges or bombs. There were also streets where it was much worse, where the bodies were lying on other bodies. We have covered our nieces' eyes so that she wouldn't have to see it. She is 3 years old, if no one tells her about the war, she may completely forget about it. Fortunately, we have not seen the worst places with our own eyes." 

"The trip to Zaporozhye was difficult, because of the fighting that was going on there. You are standing in a field and suddenly you hear shooting somewhere around you. You are trying to convince yourself that they will not shoot at you. You walk down the ruined roads, you see burnt cars everywhere, a lot of stray dogs left there by the owners. We were lucky, people helped us everywhere. In Birdyansk, we were received by people with tears in their eyes. They gave us food, a place to sleep, gas. We've seen people pour gas from one car into another just to help each other. The whole of Ukraine is helping one another, the war has united the whole nation. Many times complete strangers are closer to you at the moment than your own family. They give you everything and they give it to you from the heart. I was very surprised that somehow people became better, despite all this." 

"I studied journalism at home. I'm trying to keep in touch with my classmates and friends. Some stayed at home, especially in quieter parts of the country. Others have left, and I have no contact at all with some of them. My father stayed in Mariupol, we have no news about him since March 2, as he lived in another part of town. The whole family is looking for him, but so far we have not succeeded. We talk to the rest of the family and loved ones. We have found many of them thanks to the lists of evacuated people or on humanitarian aid lists. We found everyone close to us, yet we have to find my father. He is 48 years old." 

"We have a family in Russia, but no friends. Our family is very supportive and worried about us. Even if they want to help, they are like a drop in the ocean. Their desire for peace is too little for them to stop."