It was a rainy day outside the World Central Kitchen tent in Krakow when Alen introduced me to Steve and Marina. Immediately I found myself immersed in a story that could someday find itself in a Hollywood movie. Steve was from California and had met Marina from the Kherson region of Ukraine on an online dating website a year prior. Just two ordinary people that had fallen in love over a year of video chatting now found themselves in Krakow.
On February 23rd, Marina had taken a night train to Kyiv from Nova Kahovka in the Kherson region. “Before the war, we planned that I would meet Steve in Kyiv and we would go to Nova Kahovka together,” recalls Marina. When Marina arrived in Kyiv at 5 AM on the 24th, she had made plans to do some sightseeing as she had never been there. But when she emerged from the train, she heard air-raid sirens and said there were too many ambulance and police sirens to count. An announcement came over the speakers for everyone to head to a bomb shelter which happened to be the nearest subway station for Marina.
Meanwhile, Steve was in Paris and had just boarded the final plane of his journey to Kyiv when an announcement came from the pilot that the flight was canceled due to the war breaking out in Ukraine. Marina recalls calling Steve from the bomb shelter and hearing the news that he was stuck at the airport.
Marina stayed in the subway only one night before reaching out to one of her sister’s friends in Kyiv. “I came to her and understood that the building is close to the airport. I heard the noise of military planes, so I could not feel safe there. We decided it is better to stay in the basement and I spent 2 days and nights. I realized then that I should find something else as it was noisy, cold, and uncomfortable. Also, I was scared because if a missile had hit this 16-store building, the basement would have become a mass grave. There was also information about the landing of Russian paratroopers in Kyiv.”
When Marina called Steve for advice, he recalls telling her to get on the train and head to Lviv, a nearly impossible task since tens of thousands of people were trying to flee. Steve said, “I thought about the fact that everybody is looking for the cheapest tickets, so I looked for a first-class coach one for Marina. There was an empty seat, so I was able to book a seat for her for the following day. I told her to stay at the railway station and to go to the ticket counter and tell them about her first-class ticket and to ask them to please put her on the next available train since this ticket had cost more. She was able to squeeze on the next train to Lviv.”
While Marina was making her way to Lviv, Ken was stuck in the international zone of the Paris airport. He intentionally chose not to leave this section. “I lived there for a week waiting for her because I knew that in the international zone they can’t kick you out. Their job is to get rid of you so all they have are bathrooms; there are no restaurants, no food, and only one little vending machine. I knew if I left the international zone and went into Paris then I would have to get in line to get a ticket. In the international zone, however, when you go to the ticket counter, they say “yes, sir” or “yes, madam” because they want to get rid of you. So I waited in that zone of the Paris airport while I coordinated with her and figured out which city to go to meet her at the border. I waited for 5 days without food, but eventually some people who were about to board their plane, shared some of their food with the six of us who were waiting in this area.”
Marina made it to Lviv where she spent one night sleeping standing up due to the packed train station and managed to get on the second train leaving for Krakow the following day. There were 250 people in each train car. A train that usually takes under four hours took five times as long to make the journey. “The trip was exhausting; it took more than 20 hours to get to Poland. But we were happy that we managed to cross the border. When we arrived in Przemysl, Polish people gave us water and food. They welcomed us as family members. I will tell my children and grandchildren about the great support of Poland.”
Once Marina was on the train to Lviv, Steve booked a flight to Warsaw. “I waited in Warsaw to see which border city Marina would arrive in, and then I jumped on the train. On the way, I stopped here in Krakow because I had a transfer. So at the train station and on the way, I was checking hotels and motels. The first week there was nothing available in Poland. Everything was booked.”
A day later, at the border in Przemysl, Marina and Steve met in person for the first time. “Thanks to Steve I took the risk and came here to Poland,” says Marina.
When they made their way to Krakow, volunteers helped them find a place to stay in a hostel. “There was a room for 10 people,” Marina said. “We did not have other options so we agreed.” She continues, “The first week after the war broke out I could barely sleep. I was shocked and terrified. I could not go back to Nova Kahovka to see my parents and children, a girl who is 20 years old and a boy who is 15. I missed their birthdays this spring. We could not even imagine this nightmare.”
Marina frequently checks in with her family. “The town is occupied, but it is more or less calm. A great part of the inhabitants left the town as the war began. I worked as a pharmacist and now this pharmacy is closed. Ukrainian pharmacies are closed, and there are new ones opened by Russians.”
While in Krakow, they are using their weekends to volunteer, Marina says. “When we have free time at the weekend we help here in the kitchen. We cook food for refugees from 11a.m till 6 p.m. We decided that it is a good idea to volunteer and help refugees because people help us as well.”
Steve and Marina plan on getting married and then moving to the USA after they can get Marina’s children out of Kherson. They are both awaiting documents to finish the process of getting married.
Tune in next week when we share the story of a volunteer at Wolno Nam and how his life has been drastically changed over the past 5 months!