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999

NameYuliya
Genderfemale
Country of OriginUkraine
Destination CountryUkraine
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It was a sunny day in Kharkiv, Ukraine when Anna (72) and Nikolay (75) journeyed from Mala Danylivka, the village where they live now, to collect money from a cash program offered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Anna and Nikolay are retired doctors. Before the conflict started in Ukraine, in April 2014, they lived in Stanitsa Luhansk. One night, they woke up to a strong blast as two bombs hit their house and the window of their daughters room collapsed on top of her.  Their daughter, Yuliya (43), was a biology teacher but could not work at school anymore as the building was also damaged by the bombings. After the incident, Yuliya, who had already some mobility problems, could not walk because of the trauma and the family decided to leave their life in Stanitsa Luhansk for a short while and seek safety in the Kharkiv region. Nikolay tried to stay longer in order to take care of their properties, but last August he left to join his wife and daughter as the situation wasnt getting better. They carried only one bag, as they thought they would stay for less than a month. Now the three of them still live in a small dormitory room and depend on humanitarian aid, support from government and the help of friends and family. As Yuliya cannot teach anymore, she has been developing other talents. She learned from teachers and the internet how to paint and sew. She now makes hand-sewn embroidery designs and sells them to friends. I cannot work as a teacher because of my mobility limitations, and I cannot find adequate transportation to be able to reach the nearest school from here. Before, it was sometimes boring to teach the same class over and over again, but now I miss it. Yuliya and her family have been through challenging situations in Stanitsa Luhansk. Because of the conflict there was no electricity or hot water anymore, so we started to make fires outside to be able to cook, but it was dangerous because of the shelling. One day our neighbours house was destroyed. She was an old lady and we tried to help her, but when we found her her body was burned. The family believes that now they will have to rebuild their lives elsewhere. We are like cut trees, our roots are left there in Stanitsa Luhansk and now we will have to make new roots grow here.

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