un year. Twelve months. 365 days. It’s the time since that February 24, 2022: that is, frombeginning of the war in Ukraine. Spent for us, who watched it happen on the TV screen and in the photos in the newspapers. Spent for the 8 million people fled from Ukraine. And for i 6 million currently displaced within the country. For the 17.6 million people, including more than 3 million children, who, according to United Nations agencies, are in need of humanitarian assistance. In Ukraine, one year after the outbreak of war, emergencies are many and extreme.
February 24, 2022 – February 24, 2023. Ukraine, one year later
Since the Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure intensified in October, public services (namely water, electricity, heating, health, education and social assistance) have become a mirage for many families. And in a country where winter temperatures can drop below 20 degrees centigrade, the inconveniences have truly dramatic consequences.
Me too’food insecurity is no longer a limited problem to the easternmost part of the country. But it is now a widespread phenomenon, due to the reduction in food production and inflation which has risen to almost 25%. It is estimated that 10 million people in Ukraine need food aid. On this front, in particular but not only, the international humanitarian organization works Action Against Hunger. It has already helped more than 650,000 people in Ukraine, but also in Poland, Romania and Moldova.
But the focus cannot be on Ukraine alone: given the leading role of the country and of Russia in the global food trade, in fact, the conflict has repercussions far beyond that geographical area. «The war in Ukraine shows us the fragility of our food systems» explains Simone Garroni, Director General of the organization, «It obliges us to strengthen, in the short term, the mechanisms of prevention of existing famines and, in the long term, to transform our food systems».
On the anniversary of the outbreak of war, Action Against Hunger raised portraits and testimonials of some protagonists, despite themselves, of this war.
Ukraine, a year of war: Maria’s testimony
Maria Celpan, 25, is the mother of Macsim, 5, suffering from cerebral palsy since birthand of Anisea. They live in a very small house in a village of Willingnessin Stefan district Vodain Moldova. Maria has to help her son to move, to go to the bathroom or to eat. She prepares the food with a blender, for her to swallow. And she travels twice a year to the city of Stefan Voda to order medicines, her travel costs her 200 euros a year, too much.
Maria explains that most of the money that the Moldovan state gives her (240 euros a month) runs out to cover Macsim’s needs: diapers, food and hygiene items. Maria tries to save 25 euros a month in case Macsim gets worse or has a sudden crisis.
Not only Ukraine, the repercussions of the war on Moldova
The socio-economic situation of the Moldova it was already bad before the war, but it got worse. The country was heavily dependent on imports from Ukraine and Russia for its food and energy needs. It is one of the poorest countries in Europewith an annual final income of 4,200 euros in 2020, has a population of 2.59 million people and 13.3% live under 5 euros a day, while the employment rate is 38.8%.
Maria uses wood to heat the house. They don’t have a bathroom adequate. The family does its business outdoors and Macsim needs to be cleaned with a bowl. In a country that reaches minus 20 degrees, the situation is complicated and Macsim and Anisea get sick more often.
His family is one of the beneficiaries of a joint project between Action Against Hunger and the Municipality of Stefan Voda to support vulnerable Moldovan families. The project provides them with food and hygiene kits, as well as psychosocial support and stimulating exercises.
Elena, 75 years old, a refugee in Moldavia and blinded by the trauma
Elena Novikova, Ukrainian from Cherkasy, central Ukraine, is 75 years old and lives in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, together with other refugees like her. She sleeps in a room full of beds with other people. On February 22, 2022, while she was in Moldova on a business trip, the conflict broke out in Ukraine. She couldn’t come back and she had to stay, where she still lives, almost a year after her arrival. She lost her business because of the war. Previously, she had lost her husband to Covid-19.
He also had a daughter: five years before the war, Elena had saved her daughter from cancer thanks to a crowdfunding campaign she launched. Thanks to her perseverance, she received enough money for treatment. In April 2022, two rockets hit a building near her daughter’s apartment in Ukraine. Since then, Elena has never heard from her. She believes her daughter is dead. Due to the trauma, Elena was left almost blind.
The same month in which she lost her daughter, a baby boy was born in the social center where Elena lives. A child of a Ukrainian mother. Elena goes every week to the Dignity Centre, a project run by Refugee Support Europe and supported by Action Against Hunger and Moldova for Peace, to get free food and bring it to the mother and the baby, who is now 10 months old.
Ukraine, one year later. Elena Novikova, 75 years old, a refugee in Moldova and blinded by the trauma
Tatiana, who escaped from Irpin after 4 days spent in the cellar
Tatiana lived with her daughter and granddaughter (4 years old) in Irpin, about 5 kilometers from Bucha, when the war started on February 24, 2022. Irpin is part of Kiev Oblast and became a battlefield during the 2022 Kiev offensive. «It was terrifying. We listened to the attacks as Kiev was heavily bombed. We lived in the cellar for 4 days. We had no choice but to flee.” Tatiana, her daughter and her granddaughter left Ukraine on 2 March 2022. Although her son had to stay in Ukraine, Tatiana does not contemplate returning.
Tatiana, her daughter and her granddaughter crossed Moldova through Otaci and arrived at the apartment they found in Balti. When you heard about the Balti distribution center, started volunteering to distribute meals and hygiene items to Ukrainian refugees. Action Against Hunger hired her. The family now lives in the building where the distribution center is located.
Ruslana with her son Vova Stepanov
Ruslana, who left her 22-year-old son in Ukraine
Ruslana Stepanova, Ukrainian refugee lives with son Vova Stepanovwithin the Dignity Center managed by Refugee Support Europe and managed by Action against Hunger and Moldova for Peace. They arrived in Moldova on March 2, 2022. To cross the border, they had to wait in a long queue of more than 1,500 people. She burst into tears as she said she was very worried about all the people who remain in Ukraine, about the people who are dying, and she remembered her 22-year-old son who had to stay in the country due to martial law. You have just received an invitation to join the Ukrainian army.
Aurelia, a Moldavian cook who believes in peace
Aurelia Istratii is a Moldovan woman from Stefan Voda district. She is one of the cooks in the kitchen that helps Ukrainian refugees arriving in Palanca by evacuation buses from Ukraine, circa 30-40 people a day. Aurelia has even crossed the border with refugees, mostly women with their children and the elderly. You and other colleagues to provide food to thousands of Ukrainian families who have been queuing up for days to enter Moldova.
Tells: «They were very confused, they didn’t know anything about their future. They needed food, water and shelter. It was very difficult and many were freezing.” Aurelia would like to see more closeness between people, peace between countries and for the conflict to be resolved with words, not with violence. «In Moldova we are lucky because our sons and daughters do not experience war. I can’t even remotely understand or feel what it means for mothers whose sons and husbands are still in Ukraine, at war».
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