Stepan, 12, mixes with other little compatriots at the Unicef premises in Chartres, where they will learn their first words of French, during sessions which will be held every Wednesday, from 1 p.m. 2 or 3 p.m. Nataliya and Ruslan, her parents, observe her affectionately among the others.
These Ukrainians came from Ézy-sur-Eure (a village in the Eure, above Anet), where they are temporarily settled. “It’s too far, with the cost of petrol…”, laments Irina Segur, who is working to find them accommodation in Chartres.
Always in their painful thoughts
“Their child is the same age as mine, so I could take the steps to have him attend the same establishment”, projects the president of the Association of Russian speakers of Eure-et-Loir, who has become the interpreter. of this diaspora. Above all, she wants to break the isolation of this family, too distant from the others, and which has already lost so much because of the war. It was necessary to leave parents and in-laws, relatives, friends, who have since occupied their obsessive and painful thoughts.Nataliya (in the foreground) and her husband (in the background), surround Svitlana, a Ukrainian from Nogent-le-Phaye.
The family lived in Cherkassy, a town about 180 km from the capital. It was necessary to flee this apartment on the tenth floor, this familiar hearth become the place of all the dangers, with each resounding of the sirens, warning of a possible bombardment. The alerts increased over time, forcing them to take refuge in the cellar. Days and nights that have become unbearable, chaining descents and ascents.
“In an hour, we decided to leave”: Ukrainian refugees confide when they arrive in Nogent-le-Phaye, Monday evening
“My heart was going to explode”
At the start of the conflict, Nataliya and her son took refuge with her parents, in the countryside, nearby. But the influx of people fleeing more bombarded regions encourages him to return to his accommodation where the situation is getting worse.
Her husband Ruslan, who was then in Spain for work, begged them to leave the country. “To know them in this situation, I felt like my heart was going to explode,” he said, coyly.
Driving with a broken arm
Despite her broken arm, the Ukrainian takes the wheel of her car, with her son, as well as a neighbor and her daughter whose husband and father is in the Netherlands. On the congested road to the Moldavian border, countless Ukrainians who want to extricate themselves from hell, but above all tanks, military vehicles, planes… A scene that she believed until then reserved for films of war.
“I was afraid of dying. It was also difficult to drive with only one good arm. I wondered if they were going to end up bombing the road, and what awaited us where we were going. »
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Terrified throughout this endless journey, Nataliya tries not to show anything for the children. Especially since in their flight, so fast, she did not think of the meal, not to mention that there was no possibility of going to the toilet. “We had sweets and we made them the promise that, as soon as possible, we would take them to McDonald’s…”, she smiles.
The psychologist listening, all night…
After a first day to complete the nearly 300 km separating them from the border, they arrive at a school transformed into a reception centre. “There were a lot of refugees from Karkhiv and other places. Everyone was talking about their flight, we talked all night…”, confides Nataliya.
A psychologist by profession, the Ukrainian has provided assistance to her compatriots. “As a psychologist, we can help, explain certain things, panic, pain, fear… But we cannot explain the fact that a man kills another man…”
From the threat of death, to the joyful life…
For her part, the mother with the broken arm also takes the opportunity to somehow regain her strength for the remaining two days of road to cross Moldova and Romania, where Ruslan has been waiting for them for two days. In apnea all this time, the latter explodes with joy like never before when he finds his family, safe and sound.
Before leaving for western Europe, the family lands in a restaurant in a village where the atmosphere is festive – “there was loud music and happy people” – picks Nataliya, who dread, at any time, the sirens heralding misfortune…
The trio settles in Belgium, with Ukrainians who have begun to receive their own families. Ruslan, Nataliya and Stepan decide to free the place and end up arriving in Chartres, thanks to acquaintances. But they find accommodation about an hour’s drive from the Eurelian capital.
Loneliness in a foreign land
Their gratitude is infinite towards the host country and the French people. But in this far from everything, where they no longer have any bearings, the family experiences loneliness, the language barrier excluding them from everyday life and making them dependent. “You have to, like children, trust others. It is “strangers” who bring us to do our papers. Before, we controlled our lives, we managed our situation, our problems and there, it is others who do it for us! We are like kittens, defenseless. But we thank everyone for everything they do for us,” says Nataliya, full of gratitude.
Franco-Russian Irina Segur is one of those foreigners who make Chartres shine
“Over there, I was someone! »
“Life goes like this, like that. It is better to come to France as a tourist than in our situation. Here, despite our diplomas, we are nothing…”, breathes Ruslan, lawyer, who was also a lawyer. “I even did a thesis and taught law. There, I was someone! Uprooting does not go without a certain downgrading and a feeling of uselessness. “We lived a normal, comfortable life,” sighs the Ukrainian psychologist, with something devastated in her eyes.
” I want to go back home ”
By taking the path of exile, the family did not plan to rebuild their lives elsewhere, but to take shelter. Today, this life is suspended. “It’s very difficult, you can’t predict anything. Are we going to stay here for a month? Will it last like in Donbass and in this case, should we learn French, because we will have to build life here? We have no visibility for the future. Our host family is adorable, they do everything for us, they support us. Luckily she’s here. But we are aware of being at home, it’s embarrassing to be like a burden. »
And then, the couple must deal with the lack of the country. With his childish words, Stepan sums up the feeling of the family: “I want to go home. »
Practice. Association of Russian speakers of Eure-et-Loir, contacts by email [email protected] or by phone at 06.26.76.52.12.
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Chemcha Rabhi
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