Months ago, Sofia Ohrimenko was worried about solving equations during her first year in mathematics at a university in Lviv, Ukraine, but with the war the responsibilities changed radically and this drove her, along with her two brothers, into unexpected exile to Brazil.
“I feel responsible, my family trusts me and my siblings,” the 18-year-old boy, who is in charge of caring for 16-year-old twins Valeria and Vladyslav, 10,000 kilometers from Ukraine, told AFP.
“I’m trying my best,” he assures as he battles British Sofia in a church hall that welcomes them in São José dos Campos, in the interior of São Paulo.
His parents, who were normally teachers and furniture salesmen, volunteer at a temple in Ukraine to help homeless people without food. They have their youngest four-year-old daughter with them.
The family broke up when the three brothers left this industrial city at the end of March with no return date, a destination unthinkable under other circumstances.
They came with a group of 33 Ukrainians, women, children, young people and old people. They were welcomed by an evangelical church, which is part of an international network that offers them free accommodation and donations from the faithful.
The warmer temperature and especially the blue sky relaxes Valeria. But above all, he emphasizes the “security” of the city, away from the missiles and bombings of his country.
While he thinks about himself in the midst of these dangers, he remains optimistic: “Praying in this calm atmosphere is very reassuring. I believe that God helps them and gives them strength and hope,” says the second young Russian from Ukraine. slice.
Currently, Valeria faces the most mundane challenge: waking up at dawn to attend the school’s virtual classes.
A little sleepy in the afternoon, he writes Portuguese sentences in a notebook that he repeats in chorus with his fellow countrymen in class to adapt to the new environment.
While waiting for her return, Valeria even wishes to fulfill some of her dreams. “Knowing the sea and maybe something more extreme, like climbing a mountain,” he says with a smile.
uncertainty and hope
According to UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency), about 5.5 million people left Ukraine because of the war with Russia. Most fled to Poland – more than 3 million – and other eastern European countries.
No Latin American country is among the main destinations for refugees. A small minority has arrived in Brazil: the State Department has issued 141 humanitarian visas up to last Thursday (5).
These are mainly in cities in Minas Gerais and São Paulo in Paraná, where the largest community of Ukrainian descent live in the country.
“We miss Ukraine, but we feel good and safe here, we feel the love,” Ihor Nekhaev, 62, the only adult male in the group in San Jose, told AFP.
The Ukrainian government has banned men between the ages of 18 and 60 from going abroad. Among them is his eldest son, Nikolai (40), who is a mineral water dispenser and now saves people and collects corpses in icy conflict zones.
“We’re afraid for him,” said Ihor’s wife, Svetlana, 60, in a gray cotton robe she had collected among donations.
War news fills the TV screen in the living room of the apartment where the couple is diving into their cell phones with a daughter and two young grandchildren.
The woman complains, “We thought of going back when everything was over, but we don’t know if we have a place to go back to. Donetsk region, where our city is located, is being destroyed.”
The two had already fled their respective homes during a separatist rebellion in 2014. As before, they let themselves wait.
“Every day brings new and interesting learning,” says Svetlana, “and she hopes that the war will soon end and Ukraine will get better.”
Ihor agrees. Admire the colors of the Carnival, which surprises the host country. “I will always carry Brazil in my heart,” she says.
source: Noticias
