"For God's sake, let us go back to Pisky"

Halyna Statsiura:

We have lived in Pisky for over 40 years. My husband was born there. We worked there. We damaged our health there. We lived in Pisky until 2014, but since it was no longer possible to live like this, we moved to Pervomaiske. The attacks were heavy.

They fell around our house, in the yard. We sat until they stopped falling. We lived near Donetsk airport… Imagine what was going on there. The take-off runway was destroyed. We saw it all.

It was impossible to stay on the street – everything was flying here, the bombing was terrible. Day, two, three… So we decided to leave. There were eight of us when we moved out of Pisky. Two daughters with husbands, a granddaughter, a grandson, and the two of us. We lived like this for three months. We did not receive our pension payments at that time. Everything was blocked. My children gathered and ran away to the sounds of the bombing attack. They wanted to start a new life.

We just want this conflict to be resolved so that we will be able to return to Pisky. I just wish we were all together: both children and grandchildren. I wish we went to our normal lives. It is very hard, you know.

Life circumstances scattered us. My daughter lived alone in Mariupol. She have to pay a lot of money for an apartment. My granddaughter is studying. So she needs support, both financial and moral. If we were together, it would be easier for us. And now we can't feel the ground under our feet. We are old, retired people. We have worked all our lives and now want to be at home. Living in other people's houses is hard, especially at the old age. If you have lived all your life in your village, both children and grandchildren…

I can't go to my grandchildren or my daughter right now. All this constant moving is so difficult. Certainly, I would like to go to Pisky. I would like everyone to gather like we used to. I wish we would be together. For God's sake, let us go back to Pisky.

We went to Pisky to take our photos. They were scattered all over the place. I washed and dried them. Now I drink coffee every morning. When I open the album, I cry, because it's impossible to forget. This is our life. My husband and I have lived hand in hand since 1975. 

Before the war, we lived well.  We went on vacation with our children and grandchildren to Yurivka. The children had jobs, they got their salaries regularly. We lived well. We have a beautiful pond. We had a club and a village council. A shell destroyed everything inside. Donetsk is located nearby, in a 10- minute drive. So getting to Donetsk isn't a problem. We tried to sell some things in Donetsk. We tried to pull through. I kept a vegetable garden. I kept a farmstead. We kept the broilers, we had eggs. It's very hard to be left with nothing.

It's not about money, it's about relationships. We have to appreciate what we have. I know that. The war taught us a lot. Pisky was a very large village. Over 2,000 residents live there. Well... That's all. And now even the people who didn't say hello started calling, "How are you? Are you Ok?" they asked. It is very sweet of them.

Anatoli Statsiura:

I was pushed off the couch. It's a good thing that shells fell next to the house. Me and Granddaughter fell down and crawled to the basement. Once it stopped, I ran to the garage and got in the car. Wife grabbed some documents and some other basic things and put them in a bag. We managed to leave. Otherwise, something bad would have happened.

We got on one of the buses that was taking people out. People left to different cities and towns in Donetsk Oblast, as well as in Russia. Some left for Kyiv. We often call up our friends. Those who live in Vinnytsia, those who live in Poltava. We often talk to my sister who lives in Kyiv alone.

We thought we would came back after a while. And it turned out to be a year, two, three, four, five… And now it seems that it will go on for another ten years.

We spent all the time on the road. We always kept pillows, blankets in the car. We had to be prepared for anything. We have no apartment, nothing. The car is our home now.

It is so stressful. I can't see anything in one eye. This is caused by stress and all that experience. When you go on the road, and bombing starts, and you do not know where to run. Many cars on the road were burnt. So where should we go? But we have to go. We have no other choice but to live like this. There is no way out. We have to deal with what we have.