Right now in Ukraine, whether to stay or go is the most important decision a family can make.
In cities like Dnipro, countless people are facing this impossible choice. While some, like Iryna, want to stay close to home, others like Nastia decide to cross the border and seek safety in Poland.
“We all want to go home.”
Iryna, 60, fled shelling in Kharkiv with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. They found shelter in Dnipro – a safer option for many people escaping hard-hit areas in the east. However, they can’t afford accommodation and are staying at the State Academy of Physical Education and Sports.
“We all want to go home but Kharkiv is still a dangerous area,” Iryna said. “And because of the children, we can’t go. One of my grandsons has already started to have neurological reactions to the stress – his face at times gets twisted.”
“Poland is beautiful, but Ukraine is my homeland.”
When bombs fell just one kilometre from her home in Dnipro, Nastia, 43, decided to flee the country with her mother, Nadia, and her two children, aged one and five. They boarded a crowded evacuation train and took an arduous journey to the Polish border.
“It was really terrible and we were afraid…All neighbouring towns and villages became a battlefield,” said Nastia. “The crowd [on the train] was insanely huge. My mother is bound to a wheelchair and for us it was a terrible experience. We left everything behind, absolutely everything.”
They have now found safety in Wroclaw, and are grateful for UNHCR’s cash assistance as they have very little money left. However, Nastia’s five-year-old son is still afraid whenever he hears loud noises, such as ambulance sirens. They don’t know when they will be able to return home.
“Poland is beautiful, but Ukraine is my homeland,” said Nastia.
Will you choose to help refugees through the most difficult time in their lives? Your gift can help repair homes damaged by bombing, send cash assistance to families who’ve lost everything, provide counselling for traumatised children, or send survival kits to people sheltering in bunkers and subways.
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