Ukraine refugees Poland.Photo: Omar Marques/Getty
As the bloodyconflict between Russia and Ukrainecontinues, some Ukrainians are finding solace in an unlikely place: in the homes of strangers.
AsNPR reported on Thursday, Eka Koliubaieva and her two daughters are among those who have found safe haven in the U.S. For the Koliubaieva family, “home,” for now, is in the Washington, D.C., suburbs where the trio is staying with Susan Thompson-Gaines and David Gaines.
Susan and David heard the Koliubaiev’s story on social media and offered to host them.
“It’s opening up your heart in your life to let people in,” Thompson-Gaines told NPR, noting that the couple had hosted a family of Afghan refugees last year. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from. Every person wants the same thing. We all want safety. We want a warm place to sleep. We want food. We want our children to have education.”
While Eka and her daughters have been appreciative of the American family' kindness, they’ve also spent time worried about Artem, back in Ukraine. “I certainly don’t feel any guilt for not being there now, but I can’t say I feel any relief for being here either,” Eka told NPR. “What I do feel is just a sense of despair.”
That feeling was lifted somewhat about a month into the family’s stay in D.C. when Artem surprised them for one of the girls' 16th birthdays, per NPR, which reports that Artem, a filmmaker, was able to use his visa to fly to the U.S. as part of a business trip.
The family’s one-week reunion was brief but poignant, with Artem able to update them on the horrific situation back home. He told NPR it was “more horrible than on television.”
With Artem now back in Ukraine, his wife and their two daughters are attempting to develop a sense of normalcy, telling NPR they take walks, play basketball and share meals with their hosts.
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More than 4.5 million refugees — 90 percent of them women and children — have left Ukraine since the war began,according to the United Nations.
As David Gaines explained to the outlet, hosting the family has been so enriching that he encourages other Americans to do the same.
“You should not be thinking about what sort of a hardship it’s going to be for you, but rather, this is an opportunity to enrich your life,” he told NPR. “So do yourself a favor and help someone out.”
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched their large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
With NATO forces amassed in the region, various countries are offering aid or military support to the resistance. PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyhas called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
