For almost ten years, Natalya, her husband, and son Roma (9) lived in the village of Triokhizbenka, in Eastern Ukraine. In their small house, the family lived in peace, without fear. Then the situation changed. In September 2014, the war came to the village and their home was destroyed. The family hid at the grandparents’ of Roma’s house and no one was injured.
“The explosions were so strong. I was afraid that my heart would beat out of my chest,” Roma says.
The family worked hard to repair the house before winter, but the gas supply of the village is broken, and they cannot heat their house.
“We must stay in our small summer house in the garden, it is easier to heat with firewood,” says Natalya, Roma’s mother.
Triokhizbenka is located in the region of Luhansk, in Eastern Ukraine. About half of the houses in the village were damaged in the bombing.
The war has displaced over 1.5 million people from their homes in Ukraine, and another 740,000 have fled the country. To help them survive the cold Ukrainian winter, NRC has handed out isolation materials, firewood, and coal to civilians in Luhansk. Earlier this month, temperatures fell 20 degrees below freezing, and a thick blanket of snow covers the area. Read more here.
Closing school
The local school in in Triokhizbenka was occupied by the military, and totally damaged during the war. NRC has distributed materials to rebuild the building, but they still lack access to gas to heat the building.
“We could have heated the school with firewood, but we don’t have enough money,” says Headmaster Galiana Vasilieva. “We often have to close the school early due to cold classrooms,” she says.
Without heating, the classrooms are as cold as the air outside.
“After the gas pipelines were destroyed in the conflict, some villages in Luhansk have no access to gas at all. Civilians are now trying to get coal and firewood, but many do not have the money,” says Christopher Mehley, country director for the NRC in Ukraine.
Civilians used to collect firewood in the forests of Luhansk. However, now the woods are full of landmines and it is extremely dangerous to walk there.
Dreaming of peace
During the bombing of Triokhizbenka, in September and October of 2014, Roma hid in the basement. After the fragile ceasefire he is now able to play outside. However, constant violations of the ceasefire bring fear to the civilians in the village.
“Most of my school friends have fled. We used to be 22, now we’re only seven left,” the young boy says.
“I don’t want war anymore. I dream that everybody is friends with each other. I dream of peace,” he says.
