Testimonials : Evacuation to Kharkiv, Ukraine
Evacuation to Kharkiv: the stories of Olena and Klavdiya
Olena and Klavdiya are two single pensioners, residents of villages in the Kupianskyi rayon of Kharkivska Oblast. In the third year of the war in Ukraine, they were finally forced to evacuate due to the intensification of shelling. Like hundreds of other evacuees from the Kupianskyi rayon who pass through here every day, they arrived in a Transit Center in Kharkiv, set up on the basis of an educational institution. Here they received humanitarian aid from Première Urgence Internationale. Klavdiya and Olena told us about the evacuation and the support they received.
“I lost everything at the end of my life,” Olena from Novosynove
Olena, Transit Center in Kharkiv, 19.09.24
Olena is 78 years old and comes from the village of Novosynove in Kharkivska Oblast.
“I didn’t want to leave until the very last moment, but now it’s simply impossible to stay there,” says Olena. “Novosynove burned down almost completely. If you could only see the streets. The houses turned to brick boxes. My heart hurts so much for my native land, for my home. I worked all my life as a music teacher, saved money, either for a refrigerator or something else, and now everything is gone. I lost everything at the end of my life.”
Olena is single, so she had to go through the evacuation to Kharkiv alone. According to the woman, her evacuation bus was shelled on the way. Upon arrival at the Transit Center, she registered as an internally displaced person and stayed overnight. Due to her emotional experience, Olena’s blood pressure rose, so she asked for help from the Première Urgence Internationale’s doctors, which provided assistance to the evacuees at the Center.
“The young people in the Transit Center are kind and friendly to the old people. If you only knew how nice it is for an old person to see a smile. I’m so grateful that I was brought here, fed, given water. I received consultation from a doctor and was treated with kindness. The specialists measured my blood pressure, asked me which medication I was taking for it, and advised me what would make the pressure better.”
In the future, Olena plans to live with her 81-year-old sister in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovs’ka Oblast.
“I don’t sleep at night because of the explosions,” Klavdiya from Kivsharivka
Klavdiya, Transit Center in Kharkiv, 19.09.24
Klavdiya lived alone in the village of Kivsharivka. Her daughter lives in Odessa, and there is no contact with her son. Klavdiya refused to leave her home until the last moment.
“Almost all the villagers have already left, no one lives on my street anymore,” she says.“I was afraid to leave because of my leg problems. When the evacuation buses came, I was screaming, crying, refusing to go. Now the shelling is so intense that I have no choice.”
Klavdiya had a dog and two cats in Kivsharivka, and she was unable to take her pets with her. When the woman arrived at the Transit Center in Kharkiv, her psychological state deteriorated.
“I don’t sleep at night because of the explosions. After yesterday’s shelling, I was shaking all over, my lips were cracked from nerves. I had thoughts of death. Marharyta (Première Urgence Internationale’s psychologist – ed.) gave me a psychological consultation. She calmed me down. I also have problems with my stomach, so I asked the organization’s doctor for advice. I’m very grateful for everything, such kind people are very rare,” says Klavdiya.
Klavdiya has no further plans for her life. She says she has nowhere to go, so she will accept any free accommodation.
