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The text consists of the excerpts from the transcript of Michal Bojanowski's conversation with Yuri, Olena, Nataliya and Yeva.
The February through the whole year
I don't know what day it is today... The three hundred and sixty days of February? For us, it's still February. I've been in Krzyzowa for almost a year now. Everyone who has lived here has a similar feeling, even the children - there has been no spring, summer or autumn. February is still ongoing.
Gratitude
Each of us could talk about our personal dramas, but on this anniversary we would like to thank you for everything we get from you. We live in Krzyzowa, we are really comfortable here. We appreciate what the foundation does for us - because it does way too much! We have everything you can think of, but we dream of returning home, to our homes. And that nothing more bad would ever happen there.
A memorial in Krzyzowa
When all this is over, I think, there will be another monument in Krzyzowa. During World War II, the anti-Hitler underground was established here. Now, a stop for Ukrainians who are escaping from the war has been set up here. I hope that the memory of the help we received here will not be forgotten.
First time behind the wheel
The war found us in different places. It found me at home. I had a driving license, but I had never driven a car for good. I decided to run away. I took my daughter and a friend with her child. I drove more than two thousand kilometers with them until I came to Krzyzowa.
But here at Krzyzowa, there are many people with trauma, not just me. For example, Nataliia lived in the north of the Kiev district, right next to the river. This river stopped the Russian occupiers from getting to the other side of the river. Nataliia's house was on the worse side - that's where the Russians came in. She and her three children managed to escape.
Between Heaven and Earth
We live here as if between Heaven and Earth... Can you say that in Polish? We live in suspension. We don't know what will happen tomorrow. We don't allow ourselves that the war may last even a few years. Every day we wake up with the conviction that tomorrow we will return home. Just a little while longer, just a moment to wait. And so it goes every day. Sometimes I think that there is not much left there after all. What are we going to do? We don't have a job to go back to. We will start all over again. It will work out. Fortunately, our houses have not been destroyed. There is no electricity, heating, or water in them. For the time being, it is impossible to live there.
Putin and Hitler
Putin has taken Mein Kampf to his heart. He acts as Hitler acted during World War II. He is murdering the innocent. He is deporting our children deep into Russia. That's why we were so keen to take as many children as possible away to the West. Thanks to the relocation, most of them at least have a chance to continue their education in Polish schools, and some are learning remotely.
Maybe tomorrow?
We miss, we long for the past. Children miss their homes, their fathers, their cats, their dogs, their beds. For grandma and grandpa, because after all, the old people stayed. We lived well in Ukraine. After all, we were escaping not from poverty, but from the war. Unfortunately, we have to wait a little longer. Maybe tomorrow?
