The life we ​​leave behind: when returning is no longer an option

On February 24, 2022, the beginning of the Russian invasion forced her to flee with her family. He arrived in Zolochiv as internal displaced. Today, three years later, it is one of the main hospital surgeons. «I see very difficult to be able to return to my home, if not impossible. It is time to look to the future and start over, ”he says with the pragmatism of those who have seen the war too close and learned to tell the losses in silence.

Like Iryna, several of his companions arrived in Zolochiv after the invasion, forced to leave behind his previous life. At first, the return seemed a possibility. But over time, the reality imposed by the conflict turned the exile in something permanent. Today, many have taken roots here, rebuilding what the war He snatched them.

Cases such as Iryna have become the common destination of hundreds of thousands of displaced in Ukraine. For most, returning home is no longer an option. Their homes have been reduced to debris or remain low Russian controltrapped in a geography that no longer belongs to them. Since the beginning of the invasion, Ukraine has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. According to the International Organization for Migration (IIM), almost 6.5 million people have been forced to leave their homes In search of security in other regions of the country. For many displaced, the idea of ​​returning has become an impossible yearning. There have been no choice but to start over in communities where, until recently, they were strangers.

Larisa Afanasieva never imagined that a missile would reduce her home to debris. She was 52 when the war forced her to make a decision that would change her destiny. Single mother of four children, lived in Bajmut and worked to keep her family. “I thought everything would be passenger,” he recalls. “I thought everything would end soon.” But in the fall of 2022, the war was already unstoppable.

The house where they lived in Bajmut was destroyed after a stroke. “We no longer had come back.” He decided to move to Lutsk with his children, but there were no school places. Finally, Leopolis offered them a space to start over. A year and a half ago they found accommodation and a routine that, although fragile, allows them to look forward. Her children study in the city and she tries to build a new home away from what her previous life was.

However, uncertainty weighs. In Bajmut, Larisa had begun to pay a three -bedroom apartment, thinking about the future of her children. Now that place does not exist anymore. «I don’t know if I can ever come back. I loved that city with all my heart. There I grew up, I married my children. The destruction of his past is irreversible, and although the desire for reconstruction exists, he knows that he will take decades.

From Luapolis, Larisa observes with pain how the world seems to lose interest in the tragedy of your country. He has seen death and destruction closely, has removed debris with his own hands. “I could go abroad, start again far from all this,” he says, but he won’t. He has found in the displaced community of Urban Camp de Leopolis a new reason to stay. «I want to help my people, give my children a dignified childhood and build something new here. The past hurts, but we have to find a purpose in the present ».

The War in Ukraine It has fractured countless families, separating its members between occupied territories and areas under Ukrainian control. This forced division has generated a deep uncertainty and anguish among those who have been trapped between both sides of the conflict.

In the occupied areas By Russia, living conditions are extremely difficult. Civilians face severe restrictions, constant intimidation and an active campaign of ‘rusification’ that seeks to eradicate Ukrainian identity. Some, considered indóciles by the occupation authorities, are allowed to leave prior payment, in an attempt to accelerate this forced assimilation process.

Meanwhile, in the regions controlled by Ukraine, relatives of those trapped in occupied territories live with the constant fear of not seeing their loved ones again. The lack of reliable communication and the news about forced transfers and deportations aggravate despair. International organizations have denounced that the Russian authorities have submitted civilians to Forced transfers and deportations from occupied areas, which constitutes war crimes and, possibly, crimes against humanity

For Darina, who everyone calls, the war did not arrive with bombs, but with the silent imposition of a new regime. His people, in the Luhansk region, was occupied in 2022. During the first months, life continued with relative normality, until the Russian presence became suffocating. Schools changed to the Russian education system, the Ukrainian passports They were replaced by Russian documents. Resistance was not an option.

His family decided to wait. His parents believed that war would end quickly. But over time, the pressure on the civilian population increased. By the time they decided to flee, there was only one safe corridor inside Ukraine. “That was the last runner available,” he recalls. Only women, children and the elderly could leave. His father had to be behind.

They left Starobilsk in a special taxi to a dam, then walked three kilometers before meeting the Ukrainian authorities. Twenty passed Control stalls Before reaching freedom. “We knew it was the only opportunity,” says Darina.

From Lepolis, where I study administration and dreams of a management career, your life has become a constant wait. He expects news from his father, who is still in the busy town, taking care of his grandparents. «A month after our flight, Russian passports began to demand. If you do not, the consequences can be serious ». His father has hidden his Ukrainian document, but he knows it is a matter of time before he is discovered.

The economy under occupation is precarious. Before the war, his family lived from the sale of cereals, but now prices In Russia they are low and money is scarce. In addition, moving within the occupied area is a risk. «Each control post is a threat. They can recruit it at any time ».

In spite of everything, Darina maintains the hope of meeting with her father. «I know that returning to my town will not be possible. Maybe I can visit him one day, but I don’t get illusions to return to stay. He has accepted that his future is in Leopolis. “This is my present and my future.” Meanwhile, he is still waiting.