Rita és Mikola

I'm Rita and I'm Mikola.

Where did you come from?
From the Donetsk region, the city of Slavyansk.
What do you know about the current situation in your city?
The thing is, that the enemy is trying to surround the city. So far it isn't really
working out, but they are still too close and the mayor of the city advised that
anyone who has an opportunity to leave, should leave the city. Our mayor tries
very hard to protect the residents of the city. Most of the time he provides the trips.
He, on the other hand, remained in place, leading the area defense. But there are
also national defense troops in the city.
When did you get here?
On the third of April.
When the war started, where were you staying?
There, in Slavyansk.
And what have you experienced there in the beginning?
Well, there were shootings. There were also explosions in Kramatorsk and
Slavyansk. Where there were troops: in Svyatahark, Izjum. From several directions
we could hear explosions very clearly. The sirens were going off almost constantly.
So it was pretty scary to hear the frequent explosions, and the situation seemed
more and more dangerous day by day.
And then on the third of April, you decided to leave?
No, we set off on the first of April and the trip took two days, a day and a half by
bus.
Was this a secured corridor for you?
Not really. First we went to Kramatorsk and from there we took an organized bus
all the way to Uzhgorod. And we got here from Uzhgorod.
Were you divided there?
Our daughter is there, she fled here from Kiev with our son-in-law, because in Kiev
they didn't feel safe either. And then in Uzhgorod they were waiting for us already.
So this is how we got here. My younger daughter, she came from Kharkiv, that city
was also bombed. So all our children are out of their homes now.
Are they all here in Transcarpathia now?
Almost, the younger one is in Chernivtsi, Bukovina. The older one is in Uzhgorod.
Everyone, as refugees?
What do they know about the men who stayed there, how are they now, how
are they living? Who couldn’t or didn’t want to, or simply failed to get out of
there? Do you have connection with them?
We have a constant relationship with our friends. They seem to be used to the
situation and don’t see it as worthwhile to come from there. In fact, there is no
panic anymore. And we are forced to flee for the second time. In 2014, for the first
time, we were in Kiev for two months. Then Slavyansk was liberated and we could
return, and now this is the second case.
I know that Slavyansk was a serious epicenter of the fighting at the time,
wasn't it?
Yes, and this is the second time this has happened, but now we have decided to flee
sooner.
So your children are adults?
Yes, and there is a small one in the family, our grandson who is nine year old. And
he's here in Uzhgorod too.
What do you know about how he is going through this situation? How much
does it all affect him?
He is scared, but not struck down, he is more worried about the people. If he gets
something as a gift, he doesn’t even want to take it, he says it should be left to
those who need it more because we can buy it. That's our little grandson.
And what do you experience about the people here? Don't have a language
problem?
Everything is very good, i almost get goosebumps, when i think about it. We
absolutely understand each other with people, even if we sometimes have to show
each other what we are trying to say. In fact, I already know three words in
hungarian.
So people are very attentive and kind.
Do you know that there is also a Ukrainian-language Sunday service here?
Now we know, but Vasyl Vasylovych talks to us many times, we also sang together.
But we will also go to church too.
So we were greeted here with great love.
Was there anything that was too scary these days?
Not much, we were just worried about the kid. During the trip he was clutching his
toy in one hand, and the crucifix in the other, and sometimes he was crying. A trip
that usually takes a day to make, took them four days, because there were traffic
jams and all sorts of potholes. So that was what we were worried about, but we got
everything together and we got to such a wonderful place.
And how do your days go?
Well, we go to see the village, we made the official check-in. We walk to the park,
to the stadium, to the river. And here, too, if we have to, we will help you with
anything.
And what do you think the sequel will be like?
There will be no sequel, there will be an end. There will be peace and Ukraine will
be ours. They need to finish all of this.
I wish it was that way.