Stories that you confided to us
Before the war, a daughter was born to a family. When the war started, they lived in the basement. After the old woman was torn to pieces by a shell in front of their eyes, the family moved to their relatives in Zaporozhye, but in 2015 they returned to Granitnoe, home. They survived largely thanks to the help of the Humanitarian Headquarters.
People told with horror that they fled from the war, abandoning everything, saving their lives and the lives of their children. Day and night on the road to the regional center, military columns hummed.
I remember the spring of 2014, when our family - I, my husband Ivan and five-year-old son David were waiting for the birth of our daughter Sofia. And so, on April 4, she was born. How happy we were! We made plans for future life, dreamed of traveling with children to the sea. The house has just been overhauled.
Ivan worked in a quarry, but also tried to earn extra money, doing part-time farming.
We spent a lot of time with children, rested on the Kalmius River, and fished. David was being prepared for the school. He went to kindergarten. We saw how he was growing up. And with the birth of his sister, he became a real helper.
"The first refugees appeared in our village"
Since May 2014, we have been watching the news with dismay.
The situation in the north of the region was very frightening. But we could not even think that this misfortune would touch us so closely.
By the end of the summer, shells exploded more and more frequently. The area of Komsomolskoye, Solntsev blazed with fire at night. Refugees appeared in our village.
People told with horror that they fled from the war, abandoning everything, saving their lives and the lives of their children. Day and night on the road to the regional center, military columns hummed.
"The soldiers came to the village and around the village"
Anxiety was increasing. The military appeared in the village and around the village. After the first explosions of shells in the village, it seemed that our hearts would burst. Pain and uncertainty, continual anxiety did not leave us all the time.
All organizations stopped working. The payments of benefits and pensions ceased. A terrible time came. Everything was like a dream. I really wanted to wake up quickly. We survived the whole September 2014, spending the night in the basement with the children. The children began to get sick. The pharmacy was shut; the hospital was working intermittently.
"When the first aid of the Humanitarian Headquarters was brought in, people were crying"
I recall the first time they brought humanitarian aid from the Headquarters of Rinat Akhmetov. People were crying with joy. After all, reserves of money and food were already running out.
My neighbor, Fenya, came to me with her grandson. She was the guardian of two handsome boys. She was very worried about them and even moved from her house closer to the center. “It won't be that dangerous here,” she said. And I knew that she had almost nothing left for food. She was in such a hurry that she came in summer slippers. Noticing this, the people parted; Fenya and her grandson were silently let in, and pushed forward.
"No one has ever seen a more terrible death"
Grandma Fenya was always doing something
Restless night and day
She was not afraid. Toiled under fire
She carried water, brought coal ...
That day was fatal for Fenya.
A shell tore her body apart
And it took his life in an instant -
No one has ever seen a more terrible death.
Moving to Zaporozhye
After the incident with grandmother Fenya, we could not stay at home. We went to visit our relatives in Zaporozhye. It was very difficult for us to leave our home. Our neighbors, friends, parents and pets remained there - cats and dogs, our subsidiary farm. How my soul ached!
How to leave to far-off lands,
There is no money for the trip
Here is our home, our farm, our native land ...
Who will tell you? Who will answer?
"New Year without electricity and joy"
There was almost no connection with the village. There was no electricity for eight months. But all the same, we were very attracted to our home. We arrived at the New Year, 2015.
The holidays passed without electricity, fun and joy. And when in January 2015 there was a direct hit in the parents' house, we left our home in a hurry. People died in our village that day.
Time began to drag on painfully. David cried at night, recalling the explosions, was frightened by abrupt sounds. It was very hard without work, without a home. Grandparents lived on retirement allowances.
All this time with all our hearts we were in Granitne. As soon as it became calmer in the village, Sonechka and I returned home.
And David stayed with his grandparents in Zaporozhye. For another whole six months, he visited a psychologist. I could not forget the horror of bursting shells.
And at home ...
They stopped hiding in the basements,
Waiting for explosions at a wall.
Living in danger is just fatiguing -
They asked the Lord to save them from the war.
The words of the prayer were recurrent
It's easier with God in your soul.
We didn't know what awaited us,
It is possible that heaven can be in a hut ...
"We made a decision not to go anywhere else"
Despite all the hardships, our family decided not to go anywhere else.
Schools and a kindergarten started working again in our village, electricity and the Internet reappeared. Of course there was no work. We live on social benefits for the birth of Sonechka. And, of course, all this time our family received help from the Headquarters of Rinat Akhmetov. Our grandparents received the same help.
For our family, this is not just practical support. This is a huge vital aid, a means of survival. Thanks to humanitarian aid, my children did not know what the hunger was.
When big cars with food sets drove into our village, the village revived. Many sighed with relief, openly rejoiced.
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/
