No one plans to have to urgently leave their home, to leave behind everything you have gained over the years of effort and work. On the early morning of February 24 millions of Ukrainians woke up in the horrific reality of the war due to the Russian invasion. Millions of Ukrainians were forced to take the children, some basic things, and flee in search of safety. Olha Bisyk, Communications Manager of Caritas Ukraine was among them. She was forced to leave Kyiv and together with her sons to seek refuge in Freiburg, Germany.
Before February 24 Olha and her husband discussed the threat of a full-scale invasion and an emergency plan for the family. At that time, Russia was accumulating military forces on the Ukrainian border, however, as she is telling now, they, like most Ukrainians, did not believe that there would be a full-scale war.
“In principle, it is impossible to be prepared morally for this, but we discussed what would be a signal for us that we need to leave the home and to go,” Olha says. “On February 24, we woke up from the explosions and I wrote in my phone notes: 4:20, strong explosion. 4:23 second, third“, she continues. That day, her husband still went to work, and she left at home: working remotely and collecting luggage in despair. Now she said that at that time she didn’t quite understand what to put in her suitcase, not yet having neural connections in her brain about what to put in the suitcase when your country is attacked by еру cruise missiles from the neighboring country.
Olha, her husband, and her children left Kyiv on February 25, when the situation around the capital was becoming more and more critical. First, the family went to western Ukraine where her husband’s parents live. The road, which usually takes 8 hours by car, took more than 20 hours. It was looking like every inhabitant of the capital left it in the western direction. Later, the woman and her children moved to Germany. Her husband and parents remain in Ukraine.
Olha talks that it is difficult to live in a country when you don’t know the language. English helps, but she takes also German lessons. “Germany has its own rules and traditions, which are very different from Ukrainian ones – all communication with local authorities is through paper correspondence, so we have to check the real mailbox every day, not the virtual one, as we are used to in Ukraine,” Olha says. “On Sundays, all stores are closed here, not even a grocery store, and on Saturdays, the working day is often reduced. In general, I believe that a person can adapt to any living conditions. In addition, in Germany, we always feel the support of ordinary people, for whom we are incredibly grateful. This is the solidarity we often talked about in Caritas”, she added.
Olha Bisyk, Communications Manager of Caritas Ukraine was forced to leave Kyiv and together with her sons to seek refuge in Freiburg, Germany.
Despite living in a safe place, where there are no sirens and bomb blasts, and no need to hide in the shelter, she says that she is still unable to relax, and still does not believe that this is happening to her, her family, friends and all Ukrainians. “Although my body is safe, mentally I am still there, in Ukraine, with my family,” Olha sums up.
While working in Caritas Ukraine, which has provided, among other activities, assistance to IDPs who left eastern Ukraine in 2014-20015, Olha never thought she would ever become a refugee. However, the war did not influence her to quit her job and to think only about her safety. Vice versa, from the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Olha, as the Communications Manager tried to disseminate information about the situation on the information resources of Caritas Ukraine as much and as often as possible. This helped the world community to see and to understand what is really happening in Ukraine, where the war has become a terrible reality and millions of Ukrainians appeared in need of help and support just to survive.
Working as Caritas Ukraine Communications Manager, Olha regularly deals with the numerous stories of people in need, of those who are working and volunteering at Caritas. She confesses that all the stories of people affected by the war launched by the Russian invaders really lead her to tears. However, she was most impressed by the accidental meeting with a couple from Mariupol at еру gas station in Germany. “They were an elderly man and woman; they came to us because they saw our Ukrainian car number. I was surprised that it was a very cold day, but the man was wearing rubber slippers,” Olha says. The couple was forced to leave Mariupol, where they had a very beautiful house, which they were building for many years, where they had everything for a quiet life. The man cried, remembering how he grew grapes and grew more than 60 varieties. … The Russian military shot their house from a tank, and the vineyard was destroyed, as well as the peaceful life. The woman said that they were very lucky twice. For the first time, when the bomb fragment pierced the fence and garage door and got stuck in the car’s bumper, leaving the car unharmed. And the second time, when they managed to leave the city in a column in this car (three cars were shot in front of them). The couple was on the way to some European country to meet with their daughter. The man was very worried that now they will have to “sit on their daughters’ necks” because they would be not able to find a job because of age.
While answering the question that motivates her to continue her work, Olha says: “I am glad that I can help someone who also needs help. From my own experience, I know how despaired women were when they, together with their children, were forced to leave their homes, work, all their lives, and to go nowhere” Olha tells. She adds: “During this extremely difficult for me time, I was supported by my husband, relatives, colleagues, and ordinary people living in another country, with whom we were not even acquainted. Sometimes the assistance came even when I wasn’t expecting it. Working at Caritas, I can also become the person who lends a hand to someone to help in the most difficult times. These thoughts motivate me and help me do what I do”.
And then she adds: “I really want people from other countries to understand that Ukrainians appeared in their countries not because of their own desire, but because of tragedy. Russia is waging a bloody war in Ukraine. All these people were forced to seek refuge in other countries, forced to leave their beloved husbands and relatives, and, indefinitely, forced to survive. And I also want to thank you for all the care and support we receive in Ukraine and around the world. ”