Ukrainian women who prefer to return to their country

After escaping the bomb, Ukrainian women returned to their country after several days of pilgrimage, despite the devastation caused by the war with Russia.

The station in Lviv, in the western part of Ukraine, is full of passengers competing for seats on trains leaving the country destroyed by the conflict.

However, on a deserted platform, far from the main hall, there are people traveling in the opposite direction.

Svitlana Natalukha, 60 years old, dries up the tears of her grandson, says that the family traveled for 5 days. At home in Kharkov, a city in the east, which has been constantly bombed since the beginning of the war, Lviv in western Ukraine, and before turning to Poland.

Svitlana, her 28-year-old daughter Galina Kanuka, and her two grandchildren were well received in Poland. However, they preferred to return to the country because they were paralyzed by the prospect of rebuilding their lives from the beginning.

“Volunteers helped us a lot, but only where they were,” says Galyna Kanuka. “They told me to keep going to another city to find other volunteers there.”

The language barrier, which complicates the treatment of one of the children's diseases, also affected the need to return.

- “Your hometown awaits you” -

According to the UN, more than 3 million people have escaped Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion three weeks ago.

There are no official figures for those who have returned.However, this week AFP witnessed three trains carrying 100 to 250 passengers heading from the Polish city of Przemysl to Lviu.

Among them, some foreign volunteers respond to requests for military assistance from Ukraine or are responsible for humanitarian assistance; however, others are often women and children with Ukrainian passports.

At the Lviv station, a hand-written banner invites people to leave. “When I go back home, my hometown is waiting.”

Olexandre, an agent on board one of the trains that refuses to reveal the surname, says that sometimes there are up to 300 passengers on the return train.

“This was not the case at first, but recently several women with children have begun to return.” “, she says.

- Mermaids and sandbags -

In particular, although several countries in the EU have taken steps to accept Ukrainian refugees, it is difficult to erase the fears of displaced people in the face of the enormous challenge of rebuilding their lives elsewhere.

In Przemysl, Poland, the returning candidates leave a station full of volunteers who provide food, shelter and the possibility to continue their journey.

Trains returning to Lviv will not be announced on the departure board, and travelers negotiate a trip against the flow of refugees at the gate with the inscription “No entry” in the passport control.

Trains that do not have many passengers begin a 90km journey, approaching the borders where traffic jams predominate, and fly by helicopter on the Polish side.

After all, in Lviv, despite being far from the front line, the windows are covered with sandbags, and sirens sound all night, signaling an aerial bombardment.

On Sunday, a military base near the border between Lviv and Poland was hit by a Russian bombing, killing 35 people.

Nevertheless, it should be a refuge for the family of Svitlana Natalukha, the largest city in Western Ukraine.

“We wanted children to be safe in Poland, but we didn't succeed.” He says. “I hope you can stay safe in Lviv.”

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