Natalia, her daughter Daryna and her granddaughter Alisa are from Kyiv. In peacetime, she managed a small cafe. Daryna baked gingerbread for her mom’s cafe. Natalia didn’t believe that a war could start and even tried to convince her friends that it wouldn’t. She did not pack any “emergency bags.”
When the war started, Natalia and her friends moved from the center of Kyiv to a basement office on the outskirts. Her cat remained in her apartment.
They decided to leave on the fourth day of the war. Natalia recalls: “My children got too nervous. Staying in the semi-basement office became unbearable. It’s difficult to listen to and see all of this. I went out to get some groceries when the sun came out. I came back, and my daughter said, that’s it, mom, we’re leaving. We got on a train and left. We didn’t even know where we were going.”
The woman says that it was hard to get into the train: there were crowds and a stampede at the entrance. 15 people packed into the same compartment, sitting and lying down. Natalia believes that they got lucky, because many people traveled in worse conditions. There were people everywhere: in compartments, hallways, bathrooms. It took Natalia and her family three days to get to Lviv. First they arrived in Chernivtsi: they mistook the train’s destination, and then they traveled to Lviv from there.
Today, Natalia and her family live at a shelter organized by volunteers in a Lviv sports club. Her daughter’s friends suggested the address. The spacious hall has room for almost 170 people: the entire space is filled with bunk beds. There’s a shower, a toilet, a kitchen, and volunteers regularly bring food.
Natalia left Kyiv basically without any belongings.
“We didn’t pack. We came with whatever we took with us to the basement. I threw a flash drive with photos into my purse and that was it. We only brought some clothes for my granddaughter: sweaters, jackets. I found the sweater I’m wearing here, at the shelter.”
She and her family are staying at the shelter, talking to the kids, watching the news, walking a dog left by other displaced people. The animal brings her relief. But most importantly, her daughter and granddaughter are here.
When they get some rest at the shelter, Natalia and the girls plan to go to Mukachevo or another city in Zakarpattia. “We don’t know where to go. We’re chased by fear. The most important thing is to get as far from the war as possible,” says the woman. “We are very scared. I’m most afraid for my children.”
Natalia only dreams of peace. She says that people have united completely unexpectedly. “In this situation, we will survive, we know that by now. Just let there be peace.”
