“We became refugees for the first time. We lost our home, job, friends. Only three photos remained from that past life.”

The history of my family begins in 2014 when Russian propaganda came to the city of Donetsk where I lived with my family. It all started with narratives that Donetsk should get autonomy because it would guarantee the safety of this region from the so-called “nationalists” who “seized” power in Kyiv. That time events on the Maidan took place and as a result President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country and Petro Poroshenko was elected as the new president of Ukraine. The new government immediately began to introduce new laws regarding the national language which was supposed to be only Ukrainian. This led to mass misunderstanding in certain regions that were considered Russian-speaking. In my opinion, our enemy – Russian Federation – was able to take advantage of this. Gradually, Ukrainian television began to disappear in our city, and Russian television, on the other hand, started to appear everywhere. Strange people began to appear in the city wearing a specific uniform that resembled a military uniform but it was impossible to identify these people, it was unclear to which state’s army they belonged. A so-called “referendum” was held regarding the autonomy of the region, which, by the way, I was also participating. But none of the people I know wanted to be part of the Russian Federation. And then air raids and bombings began, heavy equipment and military personnel appeared in the city and they were not Ukrainians. We hid in basements and I understood that we needed to leave. I asked an acquaintance of mine to take with him my youngest daughter, who was 14 years old at the time, and my son, who was 25 years old, to Thailand. It was very far from me but I understood that they would definitely be safe there.

I, with my middle daughter, who was 17 years old, moved to Kyiv at the end of May 2014. We became immigrants for the first time. We lost our home, job and friends. Only three photographs remained from that past life which I managed to take with me. I had my own cosmetic business in Donetsk. Also, back in 2012, I, together with a businessman I know, opened a rehabilitation center. The building of the center was damaged by debris from the rocket and then everything that remained intact inside was looted by looters. I lost everything that I had earned during my whole life with hard work. I started a completely new life from the beginning. The first time in Kyiv was very difficult for me. I sold all my jewelry that I had with me and with that money we were able to buy groceries for a while. As for housing, the first year we lived with different people in different places where we could be sheltered for free. I worked part-time wherever possible to feed myself and my daughter. It was also necessary to pay for her studies at the university. Later I found a job as a rehabilitator and could already rent a one-room apartment. My youngest daughter returned to me from Thailand. In 2016 I my mother became a widow (my stepfather died of cancer) and she could not live alone so she joined me. In 2017 my son also moved to Kyiv – at that time he already had his own family: a wife and daughter who was 8 months old. My son was able to rent an apartment next to me. My whole family was finally together. Girls study in institutes – Karpenko-Kary Theater Institute and Institute of Foreign Languages on the Faculty of Korean Philology. We got a pet – Bomi the cat. The granddaughter went to kindergarten, the son and his wife have had a job. My mother underwent a thorough examination and began to take medication as she had Parkinson’s disease from the stress she experienced. She started to feel herself much better that time. We were helping each other. It seemed that our life was getting better despite the tragedy that we all experienced in Donetsk. However, on February 24, 2022, at 6 a.m. I received a message from friends that a full-scale war had begun. My son immediately came to me. He was as white as a wall because of events. It was already the second time when war came into our lives. For the first two weeks after February 24 we lived in a basement that we built ourselves. The military aviation of the aggressor state, which is the Russian Federation, carried out constant air raids with the aim of bombing (including residential and civilian objects). We were very afraid to even go outside. Then we started to hide in the hallway of the apartment but it seemed to be an unreliable shelter. On one of these days, while sitting in the corridor, I decided that we should leave Ukraine. We had relatives who lived in different countries, including a relative who lived in Sweden for many years. And I decided that we should go to Sweden. My youngest daughter, my mother, who was 77 years old at the time, and my cat volunteered to go with me. My middle daughter wanted to return to Donetsk to her father, my ex-husband. And the son took his family to western Ukraine, where at that time it was safer to stay. My son immediately went to the military commissariat there to join the army of Ukraine. But after passing medical examination he was found unfit for army service and was removed from the military register.

On March 15, 2022, we went to Darnytska railway station in Kyiv where we boarded an evacuation train heading to Lviv. At various stations, when the train stopped, Ukrainian volunteers entered it and shared food and drinks among passengers. Ukrainians united more than ever that days and nobody cared what language to speak. In Lviv, with the help of representatives of the Red Cross, we reached the border with Poland and later we crossed it. We were met by Polish volunteers and border guards. Their attitude towards us impressed me. There was hot food and drinks, they constantly asked what else could they help us with. I cried because my heart was beating faster because of such care and compassion. I will never forget it. In Poland we were met by my cousin who has been living there for many years and we stayed at her place for two nights in a row. On March 18 we arrived in Sweden, in the city of Malmö, where my relative’s husband met us. While still being in Poland I started looking for housing offers in Sweden on various sites. I knew that in a few days another family with four children would arrive and we could not live together in my relative’s small house. A Swedish family in the city of Lund agreed to shelter us and we lived with them for four and a half months. They became for me the shield that protected me and my relatives. We became friends with this Swedish family. And now I can’t imagine my life in Sweden without this family. Later, my daughter found a job as a cook’s assistant and was able to rent a two-room apartment which was provided for less money because they wanted to help a Ukrainian family. We all started living in this apartment together. During the summer of 2022 my mother and I were given housing in the city of Lund. I cried with happiness when I saw a beautiful apartment in the city center. Finally, after so many trials, my mother and I got our own apartment and we really liked it. Over time we adapted it to our needs and now I get great pleasure when I come home from work. I work in the field of goods logistics as a cosmetics packer where my youngest daughter also got a job later. For the first time in my life I spend the money I earn without thinking about what will happen next. I just want to enjoy life to the fullest every day while I can. My mother and I underwent an examination at a local hospital and have been taking antidepressants for some time on the recommendation of a psychiatrist, and they are helping. I now look at life in a different way. In the summer of 2023 my middle daughter came to Sweden and also got a job at АВF in the city of Malmö, where she works with Ukrainian refugees. She lives separately from us in a one-room apartment in Lund which was also given to her by the migration service. At the age of 79, my mother goes to all the events organized for Ukrainians. She is trying to learn Swedish and be useful to us as much as she can. My son moved with his family to Greece and now works in an IT company. Our family is like a phoenix that rose from the ashes. Life is beautiful and I try to feel it every day. I am grateful for everything that I have now and, most importantly, everything is fine with my relatives. And this is the greatest treasure for me today!

Original text in Ukrainian – Olena Andryeyenkova.