"I forgot to close the door." An evacuee’s rush to safety in Ukraine
By Viktoriia Andriievska
Mezhova, a small town in eastern Ukraine, is preparing for the arrival of displaced people, as evacuations continue from front-line towns in the Donetsk Region. Home to some 14,000 people, Mezhova is already hosting 5,000 internally displaced people.
Angelina, 87, recently arrived at a transit centre in Mezhova. She fled her hometown, Myrnohrad, following a mandatory evacuation order due to intense fighting.
“I had to leave my home in a hurry, but I forgot to close the door,” she confided, her voice trembling.
She is worried about her cat and two dogs that she left behind, hoping her neighbour can care for them. “She’s not well herself, but I pray she won’t abandon my pets,” Angelina added.
Despite her circumstances, Angelina is determined to return home. “I need to go back soon; my entire library is there,” she said, not fully grasping that it may be some time before she can return. The war escalated near Myrnohrad in early August, with no end in sight.
Local authorities in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk Region have established transit centres, including the one in Mezhova. These centres offer evacuees temporary refuge as they wait to be transported to safer areas of Ukraine. They receive food, hygiene kits, psychological support, legal aid and other essential services from local authorities and humanitarian organizations.
Some evacuees, like Angelina, will eventually be hosted at collective sites; or they will find their own accommodation.
During a recent visit to the region, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, visited the Mezhova transit centre and a former transit centre in Pokrovsk Town, located about 30 km away in the Donetsk Region. Two nights before his visit, an attack by the Russian Armed Forces severely damaged the Pokrovsk Town transit centre, rending it unfunctional.
“This is unacceptable,” said Mr. Schmale. “People must be safe in places like this.”
In meetings with the regional authorities of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk Regions, Mr. Schmale reiterated that the humanitarian community would continue assisting people affected by the war, complementing the Government’s response.