Julia

Hi. My name is Julia, I’m Ukrainian and I wanted to share my story. I know fellow Ukrainians have horrible, terrible and scarier stories that happened to them. However, for me it’s the most terrifying memory in my life, and it’s still going; hard to believe, explain, understand and accept the war.

 

Originally I am from Kherson, and for the last 12 years I lived in Kharkiv. My husband, five year-old son, and I live in a flat on the 11th floor near the city center.

 

On 24 February 2022 at 5 am my family woke up because of a light flashing, and sounds of bombs and explosions. Russians with the intent of war came to our land. From the very first day, they started bombing military objects and critical infrastructure. People in panic started leaving the city. Traffic jams are enormous. We can’t buy a ticket on the train, bus or any other transport. There were enormous lines in the grocery stores. Supermarket shelves became empty in a couple of days. Other shops closed – we had no opportunity to buy a cat carrier for our cat.

 

On the third day, Russians started bombing civilian objects – houses, schools, hospitals, markets, shops, warehouses in areas around Kharkiv, such as Saltivka, Alekseevka, Novi Doma, Aeroport, Kievskiy region, Bavaria, the city center and other areas of the city.

 

The basement in our building is not appropriate for staying there – we can be there only for a few hours max. The main bunker in our area, a metro station, was already overcrowded. Our friends that live across the road on the third floor have a better building with a hallway protected by load-bearing walls, at least we thought so; so we spent nights there and slept in their hallway all together – 3 kids and 5 adults.

 

Life stopped. Bombing and explosions throughout the day and night. Kharkiv had a nightly curfew; you can only go out during daylight as all lights in the city are off at night. The entire day and night, we are monitoring the situation. When the alert was on we had to run back and forth to the basement, or just pray. Sometimes you don’t have strength anymore to move to shelter, just want to be bombed in order to end all of that.

On the fifth day we were in our flat, sounds of explosions were loud, usually we are hiding in the bathroom if we are at home while bombing. This time, I just stayed in front of the window and looked at the center of the city – it used to be a good view before the war. I saw a bomb that fell in the center of the city, like I was in a parallel reality, but it was in real. It’s terrible. God saved us, I saw that bomb, other people were inside the ruined buildings. They are at hospitals or I fear dead.

 

On the seventh day, we finally found an evacuation bus with a place for us. No taxis in the city to get to the bus; if you are able to find one it costs 15-20 times more than normal fare. We are able to take backpacks and our cat in the cardboard box. As we are leaving Kharkiv and crying, thinking all the people are left there.

 

We moved from east to west Ukraine, so many traffic jams, no place for rent, everything is overcrowded. The main thing for us was not to hear the sounds of bombs. In other cities we heard only sirens. We became more scared about any loud sound – the elevator, the washing machine, the tram or garbage truck outside.

 

We arrived in Lviv in 5 days. Our cat stayed in Ukraine with my husband. We decided that our son should continue living a normal life; it’s just impossible to have a normal childhood in a warring country. And we thought it just for a little period of time, war should stop in 2 weeks, max a month. It’s just the hopes of all Ukrainians as we see now the war is still ongoing.

My son and I went to Poland and then to Czech Republic. On our way from Kharkiv to Praha, we stayed in six different homes, thankful we had a place to sleep.

 

In the Czech Republic, we planned to stay in our friend’s home. It ended up only being possible for 1-2 weeks. Using social networks, we found a great Czech family. They gave us a room in their house in Hostivice for a 2 months. I continued looking for a place to live. At this time, my sister and her son managed to leave occupied Kherson. My mom is still there in occupied Kherson, and we don’t have any connection with her right now; from 30 May Russians turned off Ukrainian mobile communication and internet access for this region. It’s so very hard to not know how our mom is.

 

I was searching for a place for all of us, for my sister and me and our kids. It is difficult without a lot of money and connections in Prague. I found Kimberly’s contact when I was at a Ukrainian gathering in Nebusice. They found a flat for three months free rental, and we hope to help to cover some part of rent in the future. Amity helped us with everything necessary to establish a new home in Prague, from beds and towels to spoons and pots. They are helping us with food, locating a doctor and school for the kids, and clothes for the kids. Together, we are searching for a job. We are incredibly grateful to meet Kimberly and Amity. Support is so important in such a life changing situation. The Amity team is wonderful! It is hard to believe that there are people who willingly help with everything for nothing in return. Just as it is hard to believe that you should leave your home because of the war in 2022.

 

Amity, we are so grateful and wretched at the same time. Thank you so much for everything you are doing, for your kind support and big heart.

 

With faith in victory! Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!