Partisan dad. Stories of ShelterBox humanitarian aid recipients.
There is no other way for us but to strive for this victory, and it starts with each of us. Each of us has a certain knack for something, and by uniting, we will achieve our goal. The main thing is not to scatter in different directions. We need to be truly conscious citizens of our country. I always say, "I am Ukrainian to the last breath."
Melitopol was occupied from the first days of the full-scale invasion. A lot can be written about this, but it's better to let Ksenia tell the story herself.
• It was February 24th, just after lunch. We, the residents of Melitopol, called that area "the gateway to Crimea." And indeed, the road to Crimea leads from there. We saw tanks. Of course, no one could even think that it was enemy equipment. They had no identifying marks. Then it turned out that they were Russian military. What really hurt me was when military vehicles started moving massively along the main avenue of our city. They came in caravans. An endless stream, that's, firstly. Secondly, there was massive looting of agricultural equipment. It was being taken away on an unreal scale. It was visible from the windows of our apartment on the central avenue of our city. The first week of the occupation: it was scary to go out because there were constant shootings, looting; military equipment was driving around like public transport. Occupiers were everywhere. They checked documents, and we, the residents of Melitopol, were afraid to express support for Ukraine. In general, just saying a word in Ukrainian could get you to the commandant's office. Pressure began and increased more and more. Well, of course, it was extremely difficult to be there.
Ksenia left occupied Melitopol in July through Crimea and to Poland with her husband and mother. In December of the same 22nd, Ksenia received a phone call. It was her father's colleague. The father himself was in intensive care in extremely serious condition. He was hit by the occupiers' car, as the woman says, most likely because of his pro-Ukrainian position and possible partisan activities. Raids on his apartment had been carried out before, but fortunately, her father was not home then. Ksenia returned to Ukraine only with her mother. Her husband stayed to live in Germany. Fortunately, despite the great difficulties and the long journey through Russia and Belarus, Ksenia and her mother managed to evacuate her father from the occupation. The husband was in a serious condition, unable to speak or move independently. Thanks to volunteers, he was immediately taken to a rehabilitation center in Ukraine. Later, the family moved to Stryi.
• What happened to my father is precisely because of his pro-Ukrainian position. First, they informed the commandant's office, their so-called city administration, about people who had pro-Ukrainian views. My father often expressed himself carelessly about the occupiers. And he paid for all this. Even before what happened to him, I do not exclude that he could have been involved in certain partisan movements. I couldn't talk to him about these things over the phone. But I have such a suspicion. There are people who saw him in places where he shouldn't have been. I think he just paid a cruel price for speaking in the interests of his country.
Since then, the woman has been living in Stryi with her father and mother. The most difficult thing is that constant care is needed for her father.
• The main problem is housing. I am the only working person in the family (Ksenia teaches English). My mother cannot physically do it. Leaving my father alone is difficult for anyone. It's very expensive for us, 6000 UAH per month plus utilities. If we were all healthy, I mean our family composition, we could find a dormitory, on a free basis or social housing. But the father is specific. Aggression attacks can occur due to trauma. So we need certain conditions for living.
The team of the "Rodnya" Community Fund, which distributed humanitarian aid from ShelterBox in Stryi, continued their working day to provide them with assistance, specifically extended it. At that time, no one could sit with the father, and Ksenia asked if it was possible to receive the necessary items later than the specified delivery time, explaining the situation. The workers understood and waited.
• These people who provided assistance from ShelterBox truly meet the requirements that I believe should be in such organizations. And they should work not just for a salary like an ordinary person; they should be humane. This is of paramount importance for such people as us, for internally displaced persons.
• The most useful thing for us at that time was receiving mattresses because we were renting accommodation. I can't even single out what was already very important for us. At the moment, we are very limited financially. Any assistance of different kinds, whether it's laundry detergent, oil, or a pack of some groats, is already significant for us. It saves our budget.
• We realized that the world has many good people. I firmly believe that truly good people prevail. I am incredibly grateful to you for the assistance provided, and of course, for the fact that you intend not just to issue these kits to tick boxes and sign them. No, the most important thing is that you dedicate your time to listen to people who have experienced numerous sufferings and life trials that a normal person cannot understand in normal times, not in war. Well, I'm grateful to you. For listening to us, for hearing our story. And I would really like it to be heard. It is not unique and unique in its kind. But it is one in a million. We must overcome this.