We are posting a series of articles with stories from our employees in Ukraine in their own words. Below is one of those stories; if you'd like to read more, click here.
Mia
The war caught us off guard when my family was peacefully sleeping at home in Irpin. We were woken up by the sound of explosions nearby – Hostomel airport, that is not far from our residential complex, has been shelled. At first, there wasn’t even a thought that it would last for long. We bought some drinking water, medication, gathered an emergency bag just in case and decided to stay in Irpin, because there were already traffic jams, people were leaving Kyiv and the region further to the West. In the evening the situation was becoming even worse, so my 6-year old daughter went to sleep in the basement of our residential building with other people. However, at 4 o’clock in the morning Kyiv was bombed – that’s when we understood that it is necessary to leave Irpin and our home. We gathered some necessities and went to my parents who live a bit further to the West.
The road that usually takes 4 hours took 8 hours. We stayed there for 2 weeks, and I continued working to provide support for our users, but the war reached our family even there. Bombing, sirens during the day and the night, life with the fear for daughter’s life made us to come to the decision that I need to move abroad with the daughter temporarily. There weren’t any acquaintances who could take us to their home, so we could only count on the help of volunteers. Me and my daughter spent 48 hours on the road. Fortunately, we were provided with a place to live, and also with all the necessary things and clothes. People here are amazing! They are so kind to us! However, it is so difficult to be so far away from your home, from the husband and father, from parents and friends for more than a month already. Every morning starts with the news and phone calls to the nearest people.
When Irpin was recaptured by the Ukranian Army, we received photos of the destruction in our residential complex, our city and nearby ones. It was hard to believe that such things could happen in XXI century. The city is still without any communications, water or electricity supply. But we all believe that we will be able to go back home soon and live our peaceful life. Meanwhile, I continue working and do my best to provide our users with the assistance they need.
Update:
Even being abroad, far from the war and bombings, our hearts are still with Ukraine – our Homeland, our family and friends. You only start planning your return back home, but new attacks occur, hundreds of people are being killed, and you understand that you cannot bring your child back when it is not safe to be at home. Blackouts because of rocket attacks on critical infrastructure, cold flats and fear for my child’s life make me stay abroad, but I truly believe that the war ends soon, we win and will be able to be where we want to be – at Home. However, even being far away, I donate to different Funds to help our Army. Ukrainians abroad organize different festivals and sell national food, national attributes and even paintings to raise money for the Army. We are united by one purpose – to do everything we can to stop this awful war.