Georgia

14.06.2022

Stories of refugees fleeng war-torn Ukraine and seeking new home in Georgia

Ukrainian refugees in Georgia

Since the beginning of the war, up to 20,000 citizens of Ukraine have entered Georgia. Below are the stories of these people:

My wife’s birthday is February 21st and we decided to celebrate it in Georgia. We were going to go to Gudauri, we had even booked a hotel, got ready to go, and suddenly at 7 am on February 24 the phone rang – there is a war in Ukraine. We urgently left for Georgia, but not at all to celebrate my wife’s birthday.

From the first minute, everyone tried to help us. For the first month and a half, we were given free accommodation in hotels.

From the very beginning, I decided that I had to start working. I contacted the volunteers, they shared information on social media and on the same day I received a call from one of the private clinics. I was invited for an interview.

My wife and I are dentists. We never thought about moving to another country. I could not even imagine that I would have to work in a foreign country, but life is unexpected like that. Today we do not know when we will return home, so we must continue to live where we are.

Fortunately, we are in Georgia. I went for an interview and they hired me right away. Unfortunately, there was no vacancy for my wife.

There was a lot of snow outside. This is how I got to work. First on bus 34 to Tskneti, then on the metro, and finally again a bus to Gldani. There were days when there were no patients at all, but I still went every day. The staff helped me as much as possible – getting to know the team and working in a new place was quite simple thanks to my colleagues.

In the meantime, a week after my employment, we found out that we were expecting a baby. Since then, I have been working with even greater enthusiasm.

Soon there was a chance for us to move closer to the city center, to the Ibis hotel. From there it was easier to get to work, but soon we were transferred again – this time to Beaumond Garden in Digomi.

This is already our sixth hotel in Georgia. It seems we will stay here for a long time and are happy about it.

My wife is four months pregnant. I go to work every day and I have many friends on our team. I walk a lot in the evenings – in two months I walked 624 kilometers.

My parents are still in Ukraine. Every day there is shooting around them, but they do not leave. I can’t go to them either – how can I take my pregnant wife into a warzone?

It is very fortunate that we have arrived here, where our brothers live. Everyone here understands us and I am glad that our child will be born in Georgia.

Natalya Balabas, 46 years old
Mariupol

On February 24, I was supposed to fly to Istanbul to travel with friends. At 11 p.m. we were still preparing: we went shopping, collected luggage. We had no idea what would happen in a few hours.

My friend woke me up to tell me about the shelling. Mariupol has been at war for eight years now. They have been shooting for eight years, so we did not panic much.

However, after about five days, it became clear that this was a completely different story.

Attacks were so strong that we could not go out into the street. We didn’t turn on the lights during the curfew. We covered the windows with bags and boards.

Our house is an old building, or rather it used to be. German prisoners built it 70 years ago. Since there was already one war, I thought that I would survive this one.

Before we had gas, I used to put a pot full of water on the stove to heat the room. Then a shell hit our house and destroyed the gas pipes. Then we cut down trees, collected boards and used them to heat the house. Every day the war came closer and closer to us. We were running out of food, the shops were empty. The whole neighborhood cooked food in one big pot. There were seven of us – me, my husband, our three children, my mother and my daughter’s friend Nastya.

March 8 was calm, I remember it well. I thought it was some sort of a gift in honor of the holiday. And then came March 9th. The shell hit the building next to us and it caught fire. The whole house was shaking.

The neighboring building was completely on fire. The hallways were on fire.

A friend of my 18-year-old son’s house burned down, which stood right across the road. We stood together and watched it burn.

The next day a mine fell on our house, we were in the basement. I didn’t hear or see anything for a few minutes. Then I ran outside. My sister’s son was lying on the ground and blood is pouring from his throat like a waterfall. My sister was on laying top, trying to stop the bleeding with her hands.

I saw my husband, completely covered in blood. I also found my son Kostya lying down, his fingers were dangling, his face is covered in blood. My second child, Vova, was also injured.

We put the wounded in the car. A neighbor got behind the wheel, he was also injured. They shot non-stop. I don’t know how we ended up getting to the hospital.

There was no surgeon in the hospital. There was no water or medicine. Nobody could wash their hands.

My husband and son survived. My nephew died before we got to the hospital. It was the scariest night of my life. Bombs were falling continuously.

The next morning, I immediately put my wounded husband and son in one car, put my mother in another car, and we all left together. My car had a punctured tire and broken windows, but I drove anyway. My sister didn’t leave, she couldn’t leave her son’s body.

There were no houses, no people standing on the road. I got to a small village to change a tire but I couldn’t find my husband’s car. There was an ambulance there. I was told that the wounded had been taken away and now I would not be able to find anyone.

I searched for my husband and children for three days and finally found them in two different hospitals.

Their lives were not in danger, but Kostya could not see with his eyes, he did not even feel his fingers. Vova could not walk. I realized that I need to leave and contacted volunteers in Georgia. We left for Rostov and arrived in Georgia on 10 April.

Volunteers immediately took us to the hotel. We had one room and seven of us slept there. Then a man appeared who took us to his private house in Vedzisi.

Kostya underwent surgery. The piece is not yet visible to the naked eye, but there is another operation ahead. His arm also needs surgery. Vova is better, he started walking. My husband has made a full recovery.

My husband and I worked in the yard, tried to help. When our hosts saw that we wanted to work, they offered us a job in their private hotel in Kaprovani.

My husband and I have been working at the hotel for a month now. I cook, clean, wash and bake bread. My husband works in construction. We do what we can. Children and mother are now in Tbilisi, in Vedzisi.

We are going to go to Canada. We will have to move to Tbilisi to sort out the paperwork and hopefully we will find a job there. I can’t sit idle.

I don’t want to look back. I lived in a huge building. Now only ruins remain.

My sister’s house was also completely destroyed. She is now in Russia, she will not come. I am waiting for the opportunity to enter the city to find and bury the body of my nephew.

We don’t cry anymore. We have no more tears. Right now we’re just looking ahead.

Daria Skibirskaya, 37 years old
Zaporozhye

On February 24, the Russian Federation attacked us and changed all our life plans.

I didn’t want to leave. I stayed at home and volunteered. Gradually the front line came closer and closer to us.

Alina, my daughter, is five years old. I realized that the child was terribly stressed and would remember everything she saw here for the rest of her life.

I have friends and relatives in Batumi, so I decided to go there. First, we arrived in Lviv, then we moved to Poland and from there we got to Kutaisi.

We arrived on March 8th. Friends took us in. Then the volunteers offered us free accommodation, but there was no heating. I didn’t even have money to buy a heater. But even if I bought it, it would still be cold.

We gave up this hotel and stayed with friends. We still live with them. It is very difficult for us to find an apartment.

Prices have risen sharply. I also had a hard time finding a job. We were offered 20 or 30 lari [$7-10] for a whole day of work.

However, the volunteers helped us a lot. They brought us clothes, found a free kindergarten for Alina, took us to drawing courses, and took us to the dolphinarium. The Georgian and Armenian churches also helped us a lot.

Suddenly there was a job opportunity. A restaurant needed a waiter. I went, and they took me, but first I had to do an internship.

It was very hard. I used to work in a bank, but now I understand how difficult it is to be a waiter. 17 hours a day non-stop in high heels, walking back and forth, food, dishes … It’s very difficult.

My salary won’t cover rent, so we are still staying with friends. Seven people live in two rooms, but at the moment we have no other choice.

Alina loves this place. She is studying the Georgian alphabet in kindergarten. I often read Georgian poetry with admiration.

There are many Russian-speaking children in the kindergarten and the teachers speak Russian. Alina feels good here.

I am slowly getting used to it. It’s a strange feeling when you’re forced to leave. I seem to be less stressed, but I have no idea what tomorrow will bring.

Ekaterina Lachko, 32 years old
Bogdanovka, Zaporozhye

On the 24th, shooting began from all sides. Rockets hit the house.

My husband is a forced migrant from Sukhum. He was 11 years old when the family left and took refuge in Ukraine. He remembers everything very well. They left late and found themselves at the epicenter of the war.

All his past traumas resurfaced. My husband was very stressed. He said that we should leave immediately, our children should not experience what he did. We left on March 3rd.

We have five children: four, six, eight, twelve and fifteen years old. In fact, there are even more of us: there are seven of us and also my husband’s sister, brother, mother and their two children – 12 people in total. We all left together.

I was 16 when my husband and I met, and at 17 I already had my first son. We just finished the renovation, bought new furniture, and it seemed that everything was all set up. We dropped everything and left.

We arrived in the city in a friend’s car. We got lucky and with the ‘marshrutka’ driver – he took us straight to the station.

We got lucky there too – we ended up on the last train to Lviv. After us, people had to wait for days.

It was terrible in Lviv. Rain, cold, and a crowded station. I held the children, I was afraid that I would lose one of them. I was looking for volunteers.

There was an endless queue for the Polish train. There were about a thousand people standing there, and there were 12 of us.

I met one of the volunteers. “I have seven children, the youngest is three years old, help me”, I said. “You have to either buy bus tickets or queue up for the train. I can’t help you with anything else”, he said.

We stood in line. Suddenly I saw this guy running towards us: “How can I leave you with so many children”. He grabbed our hand and led us around the train.

My husband was not allowed on the train – men had to travel by separate train. Children were crying. I knew that I would not go anywhere without my husband. I explained to the controller that my husband is a citizen of Georgia and can leave the country. “In this case, you will have to wait for a train for foreign citizens”, they said.

We have been waiting for this train for six hours. Volunteers brought us hot tea and nuts.

Then we arrived in Poland. It was a miracle – we met people with toys, food and sweets. I felt incredible support from the Polish people.

And then the main troubles began. It turned out that my fifth child was not registered in my passport, and even if I bought a ticket, they would not let him on the flight.

I went to the Ukrainian embassy – they could not help me: “No one will be able to register your child for the next six months”.

I went outside and burst into tears. At that moment, a Polish man approached me. “Can I help you with something?”, he asked. I told him my story.

I don’t know what he did – he went to every embassy and consulate and, finally, Georgia allowed me to fly with all five children.

He also saved us money on tickets. He called his friends, and they all chipped in for $1,000, which was the price of “children’s” tickets.

This man was probably God-sent to us. I will be grateful to him all my life.

We arrived in Tbilisi. Complete strangers delivered us straight from the airport to their homes. Then we found a hotel and since then we have been living here, in the Prestige Hotel.

Soon I asked the hotel administrator if they had a job for us. Less than an hour later, my husband’s sister and I were hired. One day we work in a restaurant, the next day I wash dishes.

The most important thing is to have a roof over your head. We don’t complain about anything anymore. Georgia helps us a lot – we live in a hotel for free. We are healthy, we can work, and will do our best.

We are in this hotel until June 10th. We don’t know what will happen after. We are looking for an apartment for rent, but it is very expensive. Prices start at $600. Where can we get so much money?

But the kids want their own home. Every day they ask me: “Mom, when will we have our own house?”.

Olga Karpenko, 59 years old
Kharkiv

On February 24 at 5:13 I heard the sound of an explosion. It was far away, but we understood everything perfectly. My son burst into the room screaming that the war had started.

We knew that the war was about to begin, but no one could have imagined what would happen.

My son and granddaughter and I immediately went to the basement. We hid there for three days. My son could not stand it – he had to leave. He left for Poland with a child.

I did not go. I have elderly parents and I didn’t want to leave them. Then, in the first days of March, a military plane flew very close to us, and terrible explosions began.

It was the last straw. I was very scared, the children begged me to leave. I took our cat and off we went. I couldn’t take anything else. We lived together with a cat, his name is Kuzya.

I came to Poland with my son. With the help of volunteers, we found a wonderful person – Martina, who allowed us to live in her apartment for free.

But we couldn’t stay there long. We did not know the language and it was very difficult for us to find work.

My eldest daughter has been living in Batumi for a long time. My son and I decided to go to Batumi.

Poles and Georgians are really our brothers.

They repaired, painted the walls and helped us settle down. We help my oldest daughter at the bar where she works.

I am a massage therapist by profession. We posted the information on social media, and I have already started to work. I have two patients so far – six and nine months old.

There are many Russian speakers in Batumi: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians. One of the families I work with is from St. Petersburg, but they are with us, they support Ukraine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to work with them.

Now we are all here together. My parents also came. Our cat is here too.

I have always dreamed of living near the sea. Now it seems like that dream has come true. The sea is 200 meters from our house, but I don’t feel happy.

Everyone is trying to help us and support us. We, in turn, try to continue to live.