“You hear the boys being beaten, and bones cracking. They look in: “Ah, you feel sorry for your own!” And then they throw you around the cell, “like a ball”

From wedding cakes in Mariupol to a field kitchen during the war. Hanna Karablinska worked as a pastry chef for many years, and later cooked for thousands of military personnel. Her husband and daughter served in the military.  

After a hard day’s work, she had a young son waiting for her at home. When the full-scale war began, the family was separated. Hanna was at work, her son was with his grandmother and other relatives, and her husband was outside besieged Mariupol. During the city’s defence, the woman was able to see her son only once. They next met after she was released from russian captivity. 

In Chernivtsi, Hanna and her son received social housing, which they had been waiting for for two years.  After everything she has been through, she is thinking of returning to her trade: baking pies and cakes. In her story, Hanna also talks about adapting. About the fears that stay with a person, and the gradual return to ordinary life.”