Tatiana, Odessa/Poland

I persuaded her to leave because every day it was getting more dangerous. A 40-hour journey for a 23-year-old girl with a cat in a cage in one hand and a small suitcase in the other was probably, one of the most traumatic events in her life.

Her whole life was destroyed. Her favorite books, toys, dresses, old photos, favorite places remained in Odessa. Here, in Poland, we try to make our life as normal as possible, but how can this be done if my parents in Zaporizhzhia live in constant fear of bombing, the nuclear power plant is 40 km away from them, and their dog is terribly afraid explosions? My best friend, with whom we have been friends for 44 years, is now in the occupied territory in the Kherson region. Past her tanks drive around the windows, and almost no food is brought to their rural store. My friends in Kyiv sleep every night in an underground parking lot. A former colleague celebrates her daughter’s birthday in a refugee camp. Relatives from Mariupol do not get in touch. And it’s raining stones on our heads every day. I do not know how to survive this, I feel like a crushed insect My name is Tatiana. I have been living in Poland for the last year, my daughter lived in Odesa, my parents in Zaporizhzhia, friends all over Ukraine.

The war for me began with the fact that my daughter called me in tears early in the morning: “Mom, I’m so scared, I woke up from bomb explosions.” She lived alone with a cat, none of her relatives in the city. When did the air campaign begin alarm, it was not clear whether it was our air defense or the Russians were shooting. It’s a long way to go to the shelter, and even with a cat, so they sat in the bathroom and slept there too.

I persuaded her to leave because every day it was getting more dangerous. A 40-hour journey for a 23-year-old girl with a cat in a cage in one hand and a small suitcase in the other was probably, one of the most traumatic events in her life.

Her whole life was destroyed. Her favorite books, toys, dresses, old photos, favorite places remained in Odessa. Here, in Poland, we try to make our life as normal as possible, but how can this be done if my parents in Zaporizhzhia live in constant fear of bombing, the nuclear power plant is 40 km away from them, and their dog is terribly afraid explosions? My best friend, with whom we have been friends for 44 years, is now in the occupied territory in the Kherson region. Past her tanks drive around the windows, and almost no food is brought to their rural store. My friends in Kyiv sleep every night in an underground parking lot. A former colleague celebrates her daughter’s birthday in a refugee camp. Relatives from Mariupol do not get in touch. And it’s raining stones on our heads every day. I do not know how to survive this, I feel like a crushed insect.