Stories that you confided to us
My husband and I were divorced before the war, and since then I have been taking care of three children alone. We left Horlivka in the summer of 2014. The attacks could still be survived, but when they began to blow up bridges…
I will never forget how scared my eldest son Dima was. He had a look of horror on his face. That's when I realized that by any means necessary to get out of there.
We decided to go to Sloviansk, to my father. But because of powerful attacks, minibuses and buses from Horlivka did not go. So I decided to go on foot, 70 kilometers along the highway. I drove the girls in a wheelchair. We reached the Maori, where we have helped people. Of the things I took only the documents and warm clothes.
The youngest daughter, Ania, was barely two years old at the time. People we met along the way shared food and water. I thought the kids would be naughty, but it went well.
I was supported by volunteers and charitable organizations in my new place. But for three months now, as a mother with many children, I have not received social payments due to the new rules for their registration. There's barely enough money for food.
When I went to the apartment, I had only bare walls. With the world on a thread - this is about us. An old sofa was presented, the bathroom was repaired by volunteers. I had to pay my last money for a bunk bed for my daughters.
The road home is closed to me, but I do not allow myself to be weak for the sake of children who have only recently found peace. I don't worry about the house or the furniture, but there are still children's photos, which, unfortunately, can't be returned.
When quoting a story, a reference to the source – the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation – is mandatory, as follows:
The Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/
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