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On the 24th of February I woke up from a message from my parents: “It’s started.”
My mom was crying, dad was talking firmly. He said to me and my sister, “girls, don’t you worry. In case we won’t be able to get in touch with you in the next few days, it’s because the internet or phone connection could be interrupted. I burst into tears.”
A few days before that conversation my parents planned their trip to Dubai to visit me. Suddenly a few hours before their plane, my father made a decision not to travel as the situation in Ukraine was not stable and they did not want to “get stuck” here away from home. Now I regret I did not push them to come and at least be in a safe place here with me. No one could have imagined that a war would have started.
Since that day, there hasn’t been a minute where I’m not watching the news. Every night and first thing in the morning I talk to my family and friends to check on them. Thank God there’s still a mobile connection. Several times my parents had to sleep in the basement of our house because the emergency sirens were alerting them to go under shelter. And that’s the smallest issue they have to live through. My city is more or less safe right now, so people there made a decision to take action and help others from the nearest regions in any possible ways. Cooking the food for the soldiers, making Molotov cocktails, donating warm clothes, and plaiting camouflage net.
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In spite of the tragic events, it is heartening that people are united and doing their best to support one another.
From my side, I am trying to support by spreading awareness on social media channels, sharing the contacts of those who need or can offer help, and asking people to make donations. And every single Ukrainian living abroad is doing the same. Those who are based in Europe, are offering their houses and transportation for all Ukrainians who lost their homes.
In the meantime, all over Ukraine, people are sleeping in shelters and metro stations. Women are giving birth to the kids right there. Soldiers, civilians, and children are dying. A lot of cities and villages are destroyed or completely isolated.
How do I feel? I feel pain, I feel confusion, vulnerability, and anger, that living in 2022, we are witnessing war.
On the 24th of February, the life of the whole county, of the Ukrainian nation, and of every single Ukrainian, has changed forever.
I am begging the world to not be silent, this is a humanitarian issue as much as it is a political one.
