On a cold night in March 2022, after a 3,000 km journey by bus across Europe, Liliia and Ulianna, her eight-year-old daughter, put down their thin bundle in Bessières, a town in the northeast of Toulouse, at Emmanuel, Karine and their children. Four months pregnant, this 31-year-old Ukrainian had resolved, at her husband’s request, to leave her country at war where permanent alerts forced her to live in hiding, in fear of yet another bombardment.
She thought she would only stay “a few weeks” away from their town of Vinnytsia. And do the reverse route as soon as you calm down. “The idea of returning to Ukraine was always in my head. Leaving the house, we dreamed of returning home in a short time. The circumstances were such that we stayed until the birth of my baby, ”says today this trained accountant, who gave birth to a little Nikita in early September in a maternity hospital in the Toulouse area.
It will have been necessary to wait another two months for Liliia, her children and her mother who had joined them, to be able to take the road back by car, bound for their country still at war. She finally found her husband there, from whom she had been separated for eight long months. But not her uncle Mykola and her cousin Vitaly, both of whom died in combat while she was in France.
On her return, she was “horrified” by the alerts
If her city is far from the front, protected by the armed forces, she regularly receives alerts on her phone announcing possible air attacks. “We always try to be in a safe place when there is an alert. At first I was horrified by these notifications I was getting on my phone. Over time, I managed to control my fear as much as possible. But I still have anxiety inside,” admits Liliia, who has resumed a semblance of normal life, punctuated by the power cuts that affect the whole country.
Her daughter, who took distance learning lessons when she was in France, kept up this pace, her school having no air-raid shelter. “She attends music lessons and a drama club. She was happy to find her friends,” she says. In Bessières, after a period of adaptation, Ulianna had also forged links with the children of the two families who welcomed them.
“She went to school in the afternoon and she quickly understood French. I think it was hard for the little one to leave. But Liliia missed her husband, her family and her life. We weren’t calm to see them leave, we were afraid for them. They were no longer strangers, it’s not the family but almost, ”says Emmanuel with whom the two Ukrainians settled down for the first few months.
“They are the ones who saved my little world”
Together they shared “a moment of life”, with its joys and sorrows. To change their minds, Emmanuel and Karine took their guests to Carcassonne, Collioure or even Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. In the early days, the telephone grafted to the hand to be able to understand each other thanks to the translation apps. But thanks to French lessons, and a good dose of “resourcefulness” according to Emmanuel, Liliia was able to take her autonomy, meet new people, attend all the local festivals and enjoy nature and calm, far from the city. . “They welcomed us warmly into their home, I managed to stabilize myself, to preserve the life and health of my children. It was an opportunity to take a break in my life, it was important for me because the rhythm of my life in Ukraine had become crazy. They are the ones who saved my little world, ”says the young woman, infinitely grateful.
They continue to call each other every week for news, to find out how the little family is managing to find their bearings while the clashes continue a few kilometers from Vinnytsia. “I’ve always had long-term plans. Now, everything is changing very quickly and we have to prepare for it. I am always ready to go abroad to save the lives of my children. But I believe that this will not be necessary”, hopes Liliia, who retains all her confidence in her government and its president.
And as on the first day, she does not despair of seeing the Russians rejected outside Ukraine. “My people are currently fighting not only for their freedom, but also for their very existence. And I believe that Ukraine will survive! “, concludes the one who promises to return one day to France, with family and on vacation. Not to flee his country at war.