Viktoria: A search for safety
15.02.2023
Viktoria* and her two young daughters have been forced to move four times since the war in Ukraine began, fleeing bombs and explosions.
The first time they tried to leave they had to go back because a dam had been mined. Even when they managed to cross the area, she describes it as only “more or less ok” – far from completely safe. “We had to steady our nerves,” Viktoria remembers.
Viktoria chose to relocate to a remote village with “no military infrastructure at all […] Here is the safest place.” However, being so remote has its downsides. Before the war, Viktoria worked as a nurse, but now it’s difficult to find someone to stay at home with her daughters. “I have to choose: to stay with my children or to go to work.”
The children are studying online, but sometimes it can take all day as the electricity keeps dropping out. They are grateful to still have access to education, but they miss the dancing and painting activities they used to enjoy.
