Our story of evacuation is similar to the stories of many residents of Ukraine…
7 years ago we had to leave home because of the war in the Lugansk region. The second time the war caught us in the Kyiv region on February 24, 2022.
In March, when it became very difficult to get special baby’s food and medicines for my child, I decided to flee my home again. I was not afraid for myself. But I thought, what will happen to my child if suddenly I am gone? This thought did not allow me to live in peace for the whole month. My son will not be able to ask for help, leave, run away or hide. He really can’t manage without my help. It was so scary to simply imagine it… and we once again left for the unknown, having collected two bags of the most necessary things.
I felt like we drove forever. The way was hard mentally and physically. Sitting and lying in a car for a child with a disability, who does not control his body, is pure hell. Checkpoints. Document checks. In big cities – endless traffic jams and incessant sirens. I rejoiced in every remote village, because there was silence – the sounds of war had not yet been heard there.
For a day we have been driving to Lviv. We waited out a night, listening to the sound of sirens. Then early in the morning we left to reach the border with Poland. We passed two borders very quickly and stopped in a camp for immigrants.
I looked at my tired and frightened son – he did not make a single sound, did not cry at all, did not ask for food or water, he did not smile. He just lay quietly, although I knew that a large flow of people and the noise frightens him and makes him very uncomfortable. I had to almost constantly hold my son in my arms, because that way I could give him at least some feeling of protection. My back and arms hurt a lot.
We were taken from the camp by German volunteers, who specifically came to pick us up.
The road to Germany was even more difficult. There were so many people in the minibus. Driving at night on the autobahns is difficult: they drove almost non-stop, stopping only for refueling. The guys really wanted to help us and get everyone to the camps as quickly as possible. Our destination was the last in the route. We traveled all over Germany transporting people. I don’t remember the details well. Perhaps this is how the brain protects itself from stress.
It was unbearably difficult to sit for 14 hours, constantly holding my son in my arms. I didn’t feel my legs at all … Early in the morning we arrived at our destination, but I couldn’t manage to get out of the car by myself, probably because of physical and nervous exhaustion.
Now Dima and I live where there is no war – in a foreign country, not knowing the language.. And once again we have no home. Despite all the difficulties, I know for sure that I did the right thing – children should never witness the war.
