Genia and Alexandre’s journey is coming to an end. Three days after leaving Dijon, they picked up the young woman’s family. The time has come to walk away from the conflict, with one goal in mind: to rebuild the lives shattered by war in Ukraine.
At last. The family is reunited. In the awakening Polish capital, it’s a relief for Genia, Alexandre and Gérard. Their journey will soon come to an end.
They left at three, they come back at twelve. With smiles, but despite everything, a bitter taste. “It would take more [de minibus]. Trains would be needed, planes would be needed… We saw the number of people in distress, in these stations, at the border. It’s…it’s clearly not enough.“Alexander’s voice is charged with emotion.
But nevertheless, it is necessary to leave, to leave Warsaw. Leave this city and the wounds of war.
But on the way back, the memories are never far away. Behind her, Zulfia leaves her homeland. Her brother remained in combat, as did her husband. With tears in her eyes, she stares desperately at the photos of the two men on her smartphone.
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At the back of the minibus, Oleksii, 17 ans. He too, his thoughts are directed towards his loved ones. To his friends, to his dog. And also his city and his country, now under the rubble.
“This is the most beautiful age, 17-18 years old. But I don’t leave my friends. I leave them for now. I can’t tell myself that I’m leaving everything, that I’m never going to come back. I tell myself that’s how it is. I try to be positive.”
Since the start of the war, with the general mobilization, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 can no longer leave the country. Within two weeks, Oleksii was also to stay.
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“In the line, two people could not cross the border. A man and a boy who was 18 years and a few days old“, recalls Iryna, Oleksii’s mother. “They said no, so I was worried. I was thinking if they said that to the boys in front, are they going to say that to us too? And finally they let him pass.“
My commitments will be even stronger. I’m gone, I’m not giving up.
Stories that particularly affect Gérard, at the wheel of the minibus. He who had left on a whim, returns more determined than ever.
“There is still so much work to do, I would almost go back. What struck me were the faces of the children at the border. It takes guts“, he shudders. “My commitments will be even stronger. I left, there I don’t give up.”
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Friday 18th March. It’s been 3 days since the convoy left. After 20 hours on the road, Burgundy finally shows itself. A return in the middle of the night, where the rescue operation was prepared.
As they get out of the minibuses, the refugees meet the relatives of the family who will welcome them.
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Genia’s parents, her cousin Alina and little Nikol, 2, will stay in the couple’s apartment. Everyone is now safe.
It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
“I feel like I did Koh Lanta and Beijing Express in fast motion“, jokes Alexandre, who enjoys a few moments of respite on his sofa. “How many kilometers ?“, he asks Gerard, seated at his side. “3 800.” Exhausted, the two friends let out a little laugh.
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But for Genia, mEven if she managed to save her family, it’s hard to rejoice. “It’s the end of a very, very small drop in the immense ocean of people’s pain. For us it’s a victory, but it’s not over yet.“
Because it is a new journey that begins. An administrative journey. “Bank account, papers, doctor…“, lists the young woman. The program, in short, of a whole life to rebuild.
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Ukraine. Three hours by plane from Dijon. In a country at war, the scenes of distress continue. With men torn from their country and children who may never return to where they were born.
Since the beginning of the conflict, 3.6 million people left Ukraine. It is more than all of Burgundy-Franche-Comté.
Find the first episode by clicking on this link, the second here, and the third there.
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