In my last story, I shared with you the transcript of Zhenia's escape from Mariupol. Today I want to share a story from a different Zhenia--a woman I met during my stay in Poland. The stories are as unique as the individuals.
I met Zhenia through Alen at Galeria Plaza in Krakow. The first time she greeted me, I could tell I was talking to someone with a lot of passion for her country. Zhenia grew up in Kherson in the southern part of Ukraine. It is the capital of the Oblast region and was one of the first cities that Russian forces took over and occupied at the beginning of the war. Russia was able to take complete control of Kherson eight days into the war.
In October of 2021, Zhenia moved to Kyiv to pursue a new opportunity for her journalism career. While it wasn't a light decision to leave her hometown and family, she knew it was the right time for her to head to Kyiv. Zhenia believed that she could have a greater impact for Ukraine with this new opportunity.
Four months later, Zhenia awoke on February 24th in her apartment in Kyiv to the news of the war. "Honestly, I was not surprised by the war. I have been ready for this since 2014. I was one of the organizers of protests in Kherson during the Revolution of Dignity. Also, we were well aware of events in occupied Crimea then. I heard the messages of international leaders, who warned us about the war. A full-scale invasion was only a matter of time."
She remained in Kyiv for three weeks during the beginning of the war. "During this time, I was at home almost all the time. I heard air-raid sirens every day, and several times I heard the noise of our air defense system."
Her reason for leaving was a bit different than most others I spoke to, "I was forced to leave Kyiv because I rented an apartment there and my landlord refused to continue our contract. My landlord was Belarusian, and when I left her apartment, she said that I provoked conflicts by speaking the Ukrainian language."
She continues, "I had no other place to live as my hometown was already occupied, so I decided to go to Lviv. At first, I came to Lviv as I hoped to find a job and a place to stay there. However, it was almost impossible because of the huge number of refugees. My friends called me and proposed going to Poland. I arrived here on March 20th."
With no connections in Poland, Zhenia found herself sleeping at the railway station, "When I arrived in Krakow, I was so lost that I did not know what to do. I slept at the railway station for 4 nights, and then I met a woman who had applied for a UK visa." She decided right then and there that she wanted to find a way to get herself to the UK.
The process to get a visa takes a few weeks after application, so Zhenia was directed to the Galeria Plaza refugee center in Krakow to stay. Here she started finding opportunities to help others out and made friends with people like Alen.
When I met Zhenia on May 18th, she had already received her visa to the UK but was waiting for the right time to move. She says she found a new side to herself when she started volunteering and helping her fellow refugees around her. "I applied for a visa to the UK, and during my waiting time, I decided to help refugees as much as I could. It wasn't a decision to become a volunteer. I just did what I could to help others. In the beginning, people were so disoriented that they needed assistance and support. Here I met Alen from Bosnia. He is an amazing person and works as a volunteer as well. Together we organized different projects to make the lives of refugees at the Plaza more joyful. We cooked our national dish, borscht, and also made tiramisu for the kids. These projects received great responses from volunteers and refugees, so we want to start an NGO. Our goal is to make people feel more confident and connected. I plan to help with this project in Krakow and then continue my work in the UK."
Zhenia found the right time for her to leave for the UK in the middle of June, but she doesn't plan on stopping the work she began in Krakow. "I aim to share Ukrainian culture with the world. Before the war, people around the globe did not know much about Ukraine. Many people still do not know that Kyiv is older than Moscow. Russian propaganda is really strong, so we should fight it as well, but now the world is beginning to recognize our strength. Refugees represent our country to the world. I aim to help them feel secure and compliant. This knowledge may help us to rebuild our Ukraine after the war."
Great story
Thanks for sharing. Incredible story.