What Happened to My Family Before They Evacuated from Mariupol
War. Survival. Mariupol. Family. Ukraine. Conflict with Russia.
From March second to March 18th I did not hear anything from my family in Mariupol, Ukraine. Any writing would justify how I felt throughout these 18 days. I will write another post on what my husband and I went through as we waited for any news from my family. A couple of days before I heard from my family, my husband gave me a blessing by laying his hands on my head and saying a special prayer. I was promised that my family will be ok and they will survive the war.
On March 18th, 2022 in the morning I saw a message from my mom on Viber. The message was not clear, it only had unidentified words. My adrenalin went up and I could not sleep. "Is this my mom?" I wondered, I also saw a missed call from her and I became angry that I did not hear it. The next day I was hopeful but worried. My husband and I decided not to sleep all night, so we do not miss a call from my family. About 1 a.m., we heard a call from my mom. I hurried and picked up the phone. My family is alive!
Cultural Hall (ДК Строителей или Дом Культуры)
On March first, my mom, uncle, and brother left their apartments to hide in DK Stroiteley or Cultural Hall which was located about a mile from where they lived (my mom and uncle used to perform there). Because my family was in a big hurry for obvious reasons, they were not able to take many things with them. My mom said that there were hundreds of people hiding in the Cultural Hall. They all were scared and terrified.
As my family was in the basement of Cultural Hall, my uncle would run back and forth to my mom's apartment for some food and clothing. It has very heroic of him as it was very unsafe to get out of their bombshelter. My brother was very scared because the bombs were flying right at him. My brother was going to the bathroom in his pants, he was scared and not able to control it. My uncle again had to run to the closest destroyed by bombes store to get some pants and coats for my brother. They were hiding in a Cultural Hall for only about 6 days until it was impossible to stay there due to the heavy bombing and shooting.
They were able to get out due to a very nice and the only policeman in the area (Levuy Bereg or Left District), My uncle begged him to evacuate them to a safer shelter. With the help of that policeman and two Ukrainian soldiers, my family moved to another place to hide. Below there are pictures and a video of what happened to the Cultural Hall after my family left it.
Cultural Hall, Mariupol. April 4. 2022. Retrived from Mariupol Now, Telegram
Cultural Hall, Mariupol. April 6. 2022. Retrived from Mariupol Now, Telegram
Pryazovskyi State Technical University (Приазовський Державний Технічний Університет)
After hiding in the Cultural Hall my family was moved to a university (where I would go if I to live in Mariupol). The university was not prepared serve as e a bomb shelter, so the policeman had to plead with the university security to open it to shelter people. As my family stayed at this university, food and water became scarce. My uncle had to walk under bombing a long way to get some water from the well. He had to find empty bottles and fill them with water at the well. He cooked food for my mom and brother outside on a handmade grill. It was dangerous to be outside and my mom never knew if my uncle would come back.
My brother's feet became numb because he sat in the shelter for weeks. He wanted to be safe, he wanted his stuffed bear. My mom found him a ripped bear that was left by a child. My mom sowed the bear and gave it to my brother. This bear comforted my brother and became his favorite toy. My brother, even though he was only 9 years old, was helping my mom in any way he could. He well understood that there was a bombing and they could hurt. After a couple of weeks being at the university, they realized that it was not safe anymore to stay there due to constant bombing and shooting. My uncle knew that there was another bomb shelter near them (sport complex) and it is more safe then at the university. At his own risk, my uncle went to a sport complex to see if there was a place for him, my mom, and brother.
Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Mariupol. March 17, 2022. Retrieved from Mariupol Now, Telegram.
It was March 17, 2022 when my uncle went to a sport complex. As he came there, he saw volunteers (people that on their own risk helped citizens of Mariupol) that came to pick up a family and drive them to a safe place. Likely for my uncle, that family was not at the sport complex. My uncle begged those volunteers to take him and my mom and brother with them. Volunteers agreed to take my family with them, and my uncle came to university to tell my mom the great news. There were about 10 people in a small mini van (microavtobus). The vehicle had no windows, so it was very cold to be in it. Additionally, the mini van was under shootings a couple of times. However, my family did not complain because they were saved from a nightmare. As they were leaving Mariupol with nothing but their documents and clothing that they were wearing, they wondered what next? On 18th of March my family arrived to a small beach town Melekino that was only 13 miles away from Mariupol. Please read my next post about what happened to my family in Melekino and where they are at right now. Thank you so much for reading this post and for helping my family. Your help gives them hope, hope for a better future.
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