More than two million people have left Ukraine so far. Most of the refugees are women and children. Yuliia Temchenko fled Kiev with her two three- and five-year-old sons when Russia began bombing the capital. On International Women's Day, she tells her story.
On 22 February, Yuliia Temchenko turned 37. She celebrated the birthday in her hometown Kiev, a restaurant visit with friends. “I told them that I didn’t believe in a total Russian invasion of Ukraine, that politics would resolve the conflict and Putin would withdraw his troops before they invaded Kiev,” she recalls. 24 hours later, she was standing at the window of her flat on the 11th floor, watching the bombs fall in the distance.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, more than 1.5 million people have fled. They are seeking shelter in the neighbouring countries of Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania. Most of them are women and children. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country. “Many of them don’t even want to leave,” says Yuliia Temchenko. “They want to fight for their homeland.” That is why many women arrive alone with their children in the two Romanian cities of Timisoara and Brasov, where two Solidar Suisse partner organisations are supporting the refugees. Yuliia Temchenko is one of them.
Yuliia Temchenko with her children in the welcoming centre of the Solidar partner organisation Migrant Integration Center in Brasov. Picture: Fairpicture/Andrei Pungovschi
When the sirens went off in Kiev, she knew: I have to get out of here
Yuliia Temchenko spent the night after her birthday under the streets of Kiev. Like thousands of others, she and her children sought shelter in the Vurlucya metro station, in sub-zero temperatures. “I packed the children in winter clothes, took pillows, blankets and food, and we looked for a place in the underground corridors. I didn’t sleep a wink, but at least my children were fine. They thought we were camping here for fun.” The next morning she wanted to go back to the flat with the children, make a plan on how to proceed. “I was still convinced that we would not leave Kiev.” But even as she was on the stairs of the metro station, the bomb sirens went off. “At that moment I realised: we have to get out of here.”
Even if they are received kindly, the women who left Ukraine alone do not have it easy. “Many only speak Ukrainian or Russian. For example, they arrive in Romania without any money. Now to cope with everything alone – far away from their home – that is an indescribable situation,” says Yuliia Temchenko. She herself was already taking care of herself and her children alone at home. She is a lawyer and led a good life, as she says herself. “It is difficult for me to depend on others in this situation. I am infinitely grateful that so many people offer their help and solidarity, give me a roof over my head and perspectives. But the feeling of being dependent and helpless hurts my soul.”
Turning one’s back on one’s homeland?
After spending the night in the metro station, with only a backpack, laptop and travel documents, Yuliia Temchenko drove 24 hours to the Romanian border with her aunt and children on 25 March. It took them two hours for the last kilometres, on foot, because of the endlessly long traffic jam before the border. She carried her younger son on her shoulders the whole way. From there they were taken by bus to Brasov, where she found accommodation for herself and the children. “I never wanted to leave Ukraine,” she says, “but I had to do it for my children.” She didn’t want her sons, who had already started playing war, to have to grow up in a war-torn country. “I don’t want them to be traumatised and not be able to get these images out of their heads. I want them to have a future, a normal life.” According to Unicef, half of those who have fled Ukraine are children.
Yuliia Temchenko has bought plane tickets to Denmark. Next week is the time. Until then, she is helping the Solidar partner organisation Migrant Integration Center in Brasov as a translator and volunteer. She is not yet sure whether she will really fly to Copenhagen. “I know that my children could have a secure future there, that they would integrate and live under normal conditions. But whether I can turn my back on my homeland and actually start a new life, I don’t know.”
"I am infinitely grateful that so many people offer their help and solidarity. But the feeling of being dependent and helpless hurts my soul."
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