November 25, 2022
News
For 8 years, Liudmila Bondarenco from Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine has been on the run. First time she fled her home when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. This year, she escaped to safety across the borders and found refuge in Moldova. Here, she receives psychological support from Caritas Czech Republic to help her overcome the trauma caused by the war.
The war was coming since 2014
Liudmila vividly remembers how on Independence Day, celebrated on August 24, bombs began to fall in her village and houses on the street were damaged. Ever since Russia's first invasion in 2014, Liudmila has decided that for her family's safety it was better to take refuge elsewhere in Ukraine.
"I was stunned...On Russian TV they were showing how the army was greeted with flowers, even in the villages I know. But the reality was completely different - bombings, explosions, fires, wounded people...no sign of eulogies and flowers,” Liudmila recalls.
Liudmila's family was sheltering in the basement when the sirens began to sound. The gunfire continued day and night.
"It did not matter that we were civilians and posed no threat. Bullets were flying from all sides. We had the impression that someone was on the hunt and we were the prey. It was hard to believe we were living this nightmare,” Liudmila shares her harrowing experience.
Refuge in Odesa and return to Luhansk
One day Liudmila counted 28 holes caused by Russian missiles on the street where she lived. That's when she and her husband decided to leave Luhansk.
They took shelter in Odesa where they lived for five years. Then Liudmila had to turn back because her mother had fallen ill. Without qualified medical care and access to medicine, Liudmila's mother died. Shortly afterwards, her husband died. Then two other relatives lost their lives.
A new misfortune
After so many losses, Liudmila thought her misfortunes were over, but then the war came.
This time, Liudmila didn't think twice. Nothing held her to the place she once called “home”. She found volunteers who were evacuating civilians and set off for Odesa with the intention of reaching her sister-in-law from Moldova.
At the Palanca border, Liudmila was picked up by volunteers who helped her to find her sister-in-law in Pelinia, a town in the north of Moldova.
The invisible wounds of the war
All these years of trauma have not left Liudmila without consequences and emotional scars. Liudmila had reached a point where she needed emotional support and help to regain hope for the future.
Liudmila turned to the support services offered by Caritas Czech Republic thanks to EU funding. By attending psychological sessions, she began to heal her invisible wounds that had accumulated over 8 years of running away from conflict and war.
"My psychologist Victoria is from Ukraine, just like me. She understands what I have been through. And that helps me a lot. It was a great idea to involve Ukrainian specialists in the process of psychological assistance,” Liudmila says.
Liudmila has been living in Moldova for 8 months and says she has finally found peace. She does not want to be on the run anymore. She is afraid to return to Ukraine now, but hopes that peace is coming and her misery will really end this time.
