Like most, Beyond Words has been saddened and horrified by the invasion of Ukraine over the last few weeks. As with the refugee crisis in Afghanistan last year, we have been moved to offer our help where we can.
With the help of illustrator Lucyna Talejko-Kwiatkowska, we have developed a new short resource to help those fleeing the unimaginable circumstances to begin to tell their own stories and talk about their feelings. The pictures may also build understanding and empathy amongst children and adults living in countries that are welcoming refugees.
Please share it with your networks so that it can reach as many people as possible who may find it useful.
We would like to make the supporting guidance notes available in other European languages, and we are particularly keen to hear from speakers of Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Hungarian. If you would like to assist with translations, please email: hpimble@booksbeyondwords.co.uk
We also want to share with you the story of one family currently fleeing Ukraine. Katja has been in touch with our trustee Nataliya Tetruyeva, who is originally from Ukraine, to tell of what is happening in her country and how we can help Ukraine.
Katja´s story
Katja is a singer. She has a 10 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. She has fled Obukhiv (near Kyiv) and is now in the region of Vinnytsja. Her voice is very emotional as she speaks:
“I am in a small village now, with my children. We had prepared an emergency backpack because we were ready for evacuation, because it was in the media.
I was woken up by my friend. She told me: “Take your children and escape!”. I opened the window and heard an explosion. We left at 6:00 in the morning. There were big queues at the gas stations but we did not stop anywhere. When we came close to Uman, a town in the middle of Ukraine, another driver signed at us to go back. We did not know why but turned back. After that there was a powerful explosion close to us. I started to cry. My children were very scared. We had to choose another way and now we are here.
My parents and brothers are still near Kyiv. They did not want to go anywhere. They have a basement and hide there when it’s dangerous.
The parents of my husband are in their apartment left of Kyiv. Tonight there was a huge explosion next to their house. Their windows are broken. I saw a video they sent me. I don’t know what to say…
My son told me: “Lesya (daughter) is so lucky, she does not know what is going on.” And when I hear that, I just want to cry. She doesn’t know what is going on. She is sitting in that basement, we are reading books, she thinks it is some game.
One night it was too cold to sleep in the house. I wanted to cover my son with blankets and he was woken up, and he started to dress. He said: “is it air alarm?”
There was one night when the alarm was often going. So we had to sleep in the basement. It was very cold. When we heard any sound, a door, a tractor or something else… we were so scared. We are always dressed, even at night, ready to go to the basement.
I am so angry, very, very, very, very angry. I am not sad. Very angry.
Now phrases like ‘how are you’, ‘I love you’, ‘goodnight’, ‘stay safe’ have another meaning for us.
[Lesva] was supposed to sing […] on Monday in the Kindergarten in a beautiful dress, not in the basement. Why do we have to be here? Why do we have to hide?
Sorry for my emotions…
Thank you for telling everybody about Ukraine, about us. Stay safe.”
How you can help
Ukrainians are in dire need of medicine, food, refuge and protection. Hundreds of people, primarily women and children, are fleeing this war with few or no personal belongings. Supply chains of most essential goods are disrupted throughout the country. Almost all shops and pharmacies are closed due to a constant high alert of Russian airstrikes.
Visit https://helpukraine.center/en to learn more about how you can donate and help the people of Ukraine.