February 24, 2022 divided the life of every Ukrainian into before and after. This is the story of Maria from Kyiv, who went abroad with her three daughters and is currently in Prague.

“I realized in January that the situation in the country is unstable. The situation was getting worse every day. But I decided not to panic, all I did was refuel my car, gather documents together, withdraw cash, everything. The night before, I told the children that they would have to pack their bags to get some things ready. We decided to do it on the morning of February 24…”

The first explosions took place in Kyiv at 5 am. The city woke up and shuddered. At the same time, explosions were heard in the border towns of Kharkiv, Sumy, Kherson and Mariupol. The war began. The decision had to be made very quickly – at seven in the morning, the children were packing, we had a few minutes to collect the most essential things…

“Because of this tension, I did not collect my things. The children with their suitcases went downstairs, I was sitting in the kitchen with a cigarette, mentally saying goodbye to the apartment. I understood that I may not come back here, that we are going for a long time…”

At that time, the roads were already full, each gas station gave only 20 litres of fuel, food disappeared from all shops in the course of the endless wave of cars.

We planned along the way: where to spend the night in Western Ukraine, what situation will be at the border, how to leave and where…

“We were in Lviv for about two nights. We were sheltered by relatives, but the next day we had to leave and vacate the rooms. My eldest daughter’s boyfriend went with us, his friends offered us a room in a hotel in Mukachevo. We went there”.

Mukachevo is very close to the border, less than 50 km to Chop. At that time, Masha’s family did not see any obstacles to quickly cross checkpoints and travel to neighboring countries.

In three hours the car moved 50 meters. There seemed to be no movement at all. There was a lot of support from the locals. People let women and children into their homes, fed them, invited them to spend the night, and rented out entire rooms. Another 6 hours and only 150 meters.

“The queue was huge. I put seventeen-year-old Margo behind the wheel, just showed her how to press the gas brake so we don’t lose space. I took the pram and the younger Olivia and together we went to the border guards to find out about some “children’s” queue. But there were a lot of us with the children, no one was going to give in. “

“At four in the morning we returned to Mukachevo. It was very cold in the hotel. We slept in clothes. Under stress, Margot had a relapse of Lyme disease. We learned about the disease in December, we have it with complications of knee arthritis. It became difficult for her to walk and to sit in the car for a long time. But the news from the border was disappointing – the queues were growing, only getting worse. On the street, I heard that one can get to Chop by train.”

Margo’s father lived in Prague, he was already waiting for Masha’s family. Spending a few more days in a car at the border and then travelling 900 kilometres through Europe with three children was an insurmountable path. The car was left behind, then there was the train.

Those with children were seated very quickly, then the train went to the Czech city of Ostrava, at the border with Slovakia and Poland.

“Of course we felt relief. After 5 days on the road, we have lost hope that we will be able to go anywhere. There were more and more people at the border, at railway stations… The Red Cross worked on the train, they constantly approached and asked what was needed and what they can help with. They gave diapers and baby formula to Olivia”.

The difficulties began later. The train arrived at ten o’clock in the evening, then transfer to the buses started at 1 am, at 3 am the buses left the city for some deserted plain and houses behind barbed wire. Information was provided in fragments, all procedures were emotionless, and then the migration officers started collecting passports. By some miracle, Masha did not submit her documents, then it became clear that this is for the registration of refugees, who aren’t able to move around the country, cannot return home, cannot get a job.

Next was a room with a lattice on the windows and with cardboard instead of a bed, one rosette on the floor, a bag of bread and toilet paper. The children cried from fear and fatigue, no transfer was planned, they had to get out on their own.

We called Margo’s father in Prague, and together with volunteers, they were looking for someone to take us out. Only at eight in the morning did a local friend of my father arrive, feed us and take us to the train. In four hours the family was already in Prague, and it was probably the quietest 4 hours in all six days of travel…

“Those who have not experienced what we did, will never understand that we cannot answer the question – what do you plan to do next? What to do next? – I don’t know. What do you think will happen next? – I don’t know… I just wanted to sit and look at the wall, not move and do nothing… »

The Czech Republic is now very hospitable for Ukrainians, there is no such crowd as in Poland, for example. People smile, seem open, offer help. They can bring new children’s things, or even give a little cash. There are public and private assistance programms.