It is early morning. In a car park a little outside the center of Zaporizhzhya, a city in the south-east of Ukraine, there is nevertheless full activity. People have long since woken up. Everyone hopes it’s their turn today. Some have waited a long time. – Ten days, says a father with a car full of wife and children. And luggage. And a dog. What these people are going to do is dangerous. But they feel it is necessary, that they have no choice. So far, the Ukrainian authorities believe that 6,000 people have done the same. They will travel through the Russian front line. Into the Russian-occupied areas. To their homes, which they once left. WAITING TIME: There are hundreds of cars in the car park. People are waiting to be allowed into the Russian-occupied areas. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Stressed mother of small children Under a tree, in the shade of a sun that is already heating quite intensely, Nadiya stands with nine-month-old Timophy on her arm. While he gets to play a bit with news’s microphone, his mother tells him that the small family of three from Enerhodar has no choice. The husband cannot get a job anywhere else in Ukraine. They need money to support themselves, and not least their son. – It is clear that I am stressed. Of course. We have a small child too, she says, while father takes care of airing the family’s cat, which for the occasion has to find a way to walk on a leash. SAFE WITH MUM: Timophy has lived with war for more than half of his life. Now he and his family are going back to the town they fled from in February. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news The family’s hometown is not very far away, but still in another world. Russian forces have been in control there since the end of February this year. Access to neutral information is limited. They are probably exposed to a significant amount of Russian propaganda. It also means that it is relatives and friends who are the source of information about what it is really like in the areas Russia has occupied. – My mother and sister stayed behind when we fled in February. They have said that if you don’t touch or provoke the Russians, they will leave you alone. And then it’s like living a normal life there, says Nadiya, with a certain degree of hope in her voice. – There is also a nuclear power plant in our city, so it would be very strange to attack there. I hope it is a bit safer there than in other parts of the occupied territories. CHILDREN: Many people have written “діти”, Ukrainian for “children”, in the car window, to show that they have children on board. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Long waiting time Every day between 150 and 250 cars are released across the front line. Here, people go to cities such as Donetsk, Mariupol and Kherson. Some days all transport is cancelled. This is due to fighting in the area. To ensure safety, everyone is driven in groups of fifty and fifty cars. Accompanied by police and explosives experts. There are both families who are going home, but also others who are just taking a short trip with food and medicine to relatives who still live in Russian-controlled areas. There are also volunteers here who drive those who do not have a car. TEST OF PATIENCE: Some families have waited for ten days in the car park to be allowed to travel. It can get very boring. Especially for the little ones. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news In makeshift tents in the car park, everyone who wants to travel must register. They must go to the tent that belongs to their oblast (county) and prove that they actually have residence or family ties there. Then the wait begins. Both the Ukrainian and Russian authorities must approve the person’s departure. Every morning a list is hung on a house by the car park. Here are the names of those who have received permission today. – Of course we inform people about the risk of leaving, but so far no one has chosen to turn around because of that. We have so far provided transport for around 6,000 people, says Mykola Shkrebtan, who is an adviser at the military administration in Zaporizhzhya. – But there are still more people fleeing Russian-occupied areas than there are people returning, he emphasizes. DEPARTURE: Every day the car park fills up with people hoping to be allowed to go home. Even if the home is in an area occupied by the Russians. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Back to help One who stands out in the crowd of T-shirts, shorts, singlets and sandals is the priest Alexij. He calmly walks around in the all-black priest’s dress, even though the temperature is approaching 30 degrees. Together with his wife and two children, he had to flee from the attacks in his home town of Lysytsjansk on 30 June. On July 3, Ukraine admitted that they had to pull the soldiers out of the city. Thus, Russian forces had occupied the entire Luhansk Oblast. Now he wants to go back to help those who didn’t manage to get away before the occupying power had the upper hand. PRIEST: Alexij is a priest and wants to return to Lysytjansk to be close to his congregation. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news – According to the news, it is still intense and dangerous there. With God on our side, we don’t need to be afraid, he says firmly. – Now we are going back so I can be close to my congregation and give spiritual and moral help. I think that means a lot, continues the priest, before the son disturbs us. Today’s list has arrived. The way out Many people are disappointed. They have to wait at least one more day. Others run back to their cars. Now they will be allowed to leave. One of them will embark on his fourth trip. The 67-year-old Nikolai belongs to the group that has volunteered to drive buses with people who do not have their own car across the front line. Now everyone on the bus has been approved and the trip can start. – Of course I’m scared. But it is important. Now I get to evacuate people from the occupied areas, and I get to help those going in. DRIVER: Nikolai (67) wants to help those who do not have their own car to travel in and out of the Russian-controlled areas. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news But there have been several frightening experiences, he says. – On one of the trips, I had stopped under a tree in Kamjanske, in the “grey zone” (areas between the Ukrainian and Russian front lines editor’s note). Then the police came quickly and got me back to the Ukrainian side. The next day I saw that the same tree and the gas station next to it were completely destroyed by a bomb attack. If I had stayed under that tree I might have been killed, says Nikolai. Then the Ukrainian police start checking everyone who is going to travel. Here it is checked that no one has weapons, petrol or anything else that the Russian soldiers might use and will therefore confiscate. ALLOWED TO DRIVE IN: Finally, the first cars can set off on the perilous journey. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news Pools of fifty and fifty cars are then released onto the road. But the priest Alexij must wait at least one more day.
ttn-69
Timophy (9 months) is going on a dangerous journey to Russian-occupied areas – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
