In mid-March, in one of the houses on the outskirts of Nikolaev town in Ukraine, a 72-year-old woman took a decision that divided her life into before and after. In just several hours, Valentina Ejova packed her whole life into two small suitcases and left her homeland, Ukraine.
‘There were explosions outside, it smelled of smoke. We were almost surrounded; planes were flying overhead. There was so much noise, that I couldn’t hear my own voice when I was talking to my friend on the phone. We decided to leave the next morning, if we made it through...’, Valentina says.
‘My life values more than the material goods I gave up to’
She spent her entire life in Nikolaev town, in Ukraine, she was born there, started a family, worked, and then retired. Even though she has never travelled abroad, she says that it took only two hours to decide to leave and to have the trip to Moldova.
‘I have worked my entire life as a tax inspector – I am a coolheaded person and even though my heart ached to leave my home, the rationality had the upper hand. I fled my homeland without looking back, I decided that my life values more than the material goods I gave up’, Valentina says.
The trip from Nikolaev to Chisinau took 24 hours instead of approximately 5 hours
Even though the trip from Nikolaev to Chisinau would normally have taken several hours, she made it in 24 hours. Initially, she went by her family friends’ car to Odessa. After a long search, she found a minibus heading to Chisinau.
‘I have been active my entire life, I am still active now, even though I am in my 8th decade of life. But it was a trip that drained my strength – not so much physically, but emotionally. The fear of running into minefields or being stopped never left me for a second’, the woman remembers.
She says she was able to breathe a sigh of relief only when she crossed the Moldovan border. Once in the Republic of Moldova, she was accommodated at the Moldexpo Temporary Placement Centre. She has been here for several days and says that she associates our country with peace, help and kindness.
‘I felt so strong, able to encounter all challenges, as I expect they will be. I have received so much support, I couldn’t even believe that everything is provided for free’, she says.
‘The age is not a diagnose – I feel full of strength and energy to face challenges in a new country’
Valentina is temporarily in the Republic of Moldova – in a few days she is flying to Austria, a country she only heard about, but she knows it receives and accommodates Ukrainian refugees. She has nobody there, but she is confident she will find her place.
‘Guten morgen’ ( Good morning in German) that’s all I know in German. I am 72, yes, but I am ready to study a new language, I am ready to work and to get on my feet. The age is not a diagnose – I feel full of strength and energy, I am ready to face challenges in a new country’, Valentina says confidently.
Valentina goes to Austria with 78 US dollars in her pocket. She says that the day before leaving Ukraine she tried to withdraw money from several ATMs, but all of them were empty.
Although she still has time until her flight, her things are already packed. She also shows us what she managed to put in those two small suitcases: blouses, trousers, shoes and underwear. She says that she managed to rearrange them several times – not everything she managed to take with her from home fits into the weight limit of the airline. She also has a separate bag that she does not part with – she keeps photos there.
I can give up clothes and shoes, but I don’t give up my photos – they are my life
‘I have been told that I am allowed to have an 8 kg handbag and a 23 kg suitcase. I can’t fit everything there; I have to choose what to leave and what to take with me. I think I will leave this dress here... and these slippers. I can give up clothes and shoes, but I don’t give up my photos – they are my life’.
Although she tries to stay calm, her voice trembles periodically: “I am young here, I think I am 16 years old. This is my son when he was little...”
Valentina’s husband passed away many years ago, but the woman’s son remained at home, in a three-room apartment in Nikolaev. He was not so determined to leave, but in the meantime, he changed his mind. Left with no Internet connection, like the entire town of Nikolaev, he managed to tell his mother on the phone that he also wanted to leave, but they haven’t spoken since.
‘I want to go to Austria and do everything possible to bring my son near me. He looks like his father; he hardly makes radical decisions. He is young, young people usually take such decisions more easily, in our case it was the other way around. I pray to be able to see him again’, Valentina says.
Full of hope and determination, she is certain that in Austria she will find rest and peace. She does not know if she ever returns home, in Ukraine.
UNFPA is working with the Government of the Republic of Moldova to provide the necessary support to refugee women and girls, including the older persons.
According to statistics, more than 3.5 million refugees have crossed international borders. On 22 March 2022, there were around 100,000 refugees in Moldova, most of them were women, children and older people. UNFPA supports the Government of the Republic of Moldova, as part of the United Nations response, to provide immediate assistance and information to those in need.
