A portrait of Milena* 22, Bohdan* 1 years old

Mothers fleeing war: “We didn’t know where we would live or how.”

24 May 2022 Romania   Ukraine

Mothers fleeing war: “We didn’t know where we would live or how.”

The multimedia stories of four mothers fleeing Ukraine has highlighted the heartbreaking decisions that families have had to make during three months of war in Ukraine.

A series of portraits by award-winning British photographer Lewis Khan from the Romanian border documents the stories of mothers and children who fled Ukraine as bombs and bullets rained down on their homes. Leaving behind friends, family, and everything they have known with little more than the clothes on their backs and hope in their hearts.

We stand side by side with children in the world's toughest places.

His images tell the stories of their fight for survival, but also their hope for the future. Families describe making impossible decisions about whether they should stay or flee, leaving their husbands and fathers behind, and homes they may never see again.

These compelling images also show exactly what each family packed as they were forced to flee their homes. Some brought just a few changes of clothes, toys for their children and medical supplies, not knowing if they would leave for weeks, months or even years.

More than 6.3 million people, of which half are estimated to be children, have now fled Ukraine in the hope of finding safety in neighbouring countries with 924,000 people arriving in Romania alone in what is the largest displacement of people in Europe since World War II.

Iryna* from Kyiv, had just 24 hours to decide before the curfew if she should leave with her 10-year-old daughter *Nikolina, leaving behind her mother who was too sick to travel. Iryna* was also seven months pregnant and made the train journey huddled in a disused toilet with her daughter to escape the crowds.

“For my child and my unborn baby I decided, if I can, I have to go. They have their whole lives ahead of them. At each stop we were so scared. There were harsh quarrels, so we locked the door at those stops.”

Her daughter* Nikolina said: “I was scared when we were near the railway station. There were lots of soldiers. They were standing, some were holding machine guns and others were holding rifles.”

Mariya* from Dnipro, decided to leave with her four-year-old son after missiles hit their home town. They took the first train they could heading west from Dnipro towards Romania.

“It was the scariest day of our lives,” she said. “We didn't know where we would live or how. It was a journey to nowhere. I’ve never come here, I didn't know where I was going.

“It's good here, they treat us very well. We have enough food. It's warm and cosy. We're very grateful for that.”

Each of the families are being provided with temporary accommodation in northern Romania by Save the Children and their partners and they are receiving cash voucher assistance, mental health support and legal advice.

Save the Children Romania’s CEO, Gabriela Alexandrescu, said:

“Each one of these stories is a powerful reminder of what millions of families have been through as we mark the first three months of this terrible war. Mothers have had to make choices no one should ever have to make, leaving everything behind in the hope of keeping their children safe.

“In the space of just over 90 days, the war in Ukraine has unleashed the largest refugee crisis since World War Two, with more than six million people including nearly three million children leaving Ukraine.

“That’s almost one child every second, each one is a life changed forever. We call on all parties to end this brutal war and end the suffering, to help rebuild the devastated lives of millions of people across the country.”

In Ukraine Save the Children is working through local partners to provide shelter, food, cash, fuel, psychosocial support, baby, and hygiene kits to displaced families. Save the Children has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, delivering essential humanitarian aid to children and their families.

Content available here

For further enquiries please contact:

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.

 

Related News

Maysa*, 28, holding her son Khalid*, 3, in the camp where the family is displaced in Syria

Maysa*, 28, and her husband, Bahaa*, 24, have two young children; Khalid*, three, and Khansa*, one and a half. The family is now living in a displacement camp in Syria after fleeing the violence in Lebanon. In 2019, Bahaa fled Syria to Lebanon, to escape escalating violence in his village, in search of safety and work. In Lebanon, he married Maysa*, a Syrian refugee. The family worked in agriculture, living in tents set up in the fields they worked in. Life wasn’t so easy for them, often landowners withheld their wages which were barely enough to cover basic needs. Some non-governmental organisations provided aid, which helped them get by, but life remained tough. When the violence escalated in Lebanon, the family fled to Syria to save the lives of their children. Save the Children is assisting the family by providing Ready-to-Eat kits, hygiene kits, dignity kits for women, and Plumpy Nut butter for children under 5 years. They are one of the 117 families who arrived on October 29, 2024, in one of the displacement camps in Syria and are living through difficult conditions. They have limited access to water, food, and warm clothes for their children. Despite receiving some basic supplies, such as blankets, a tent, and food baskets, the extreme cold affected their son’s health, and he fell sick. Roni Ahmed / Save the Children

13 Nov 2024

Lebanon

ABOUT 300,000 CHILDREN HAVE FLED LEBANON TO SYRIA, WHERE AID NEEDS HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER

About 300,000 children have fled from Lebanon to Syria in the past seven weeks to seek safety from the worsening conflict, only to arrive in a country where humanitarian needs have never been higher. We have multimedia content to accompany this press release: www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/Package/2O4C2S11VJ1U
READ MORE
Mpox Case Isolation Center Uvira, DRC

Prudence*, 26, a mother of three from South Kivu province, fled armed conflict with her family to Uvira, DRC, in 2023. The hot climate led to widespread illness, with her family suffering from malaria and her children contracting cholera, which is endemic in the area. In May 2024, Mpox spread in her health zone, primarily affecting children. By September, her youngest daughter Christelle*, just 5 months old, fell ill with Mpox. Unsure of the illness, Prudence* initially treated her with medicine from a local pharmacy, which was ineffective. While seeking help from a traditional practitioner, Prudence* encountered community relays trained by Save the Children, who advised her to seek proper treatment at the Mpox isolation centre. Christelle’s* health began improving during her two-week stay at the centre, much to her mother’s relief. Prudence* is thankful for the support she received and dreams of a better future for her children, hoping for peace to return to her village so she can resume farming. Elias Mcito / Save the Children

13 Nov 2024

Burundi , Democratic Congo

Cases of new mpox strain more than double among children in DR Congo and Burundi since emergency declared

The new and aggressive strain of the potentially deadly mpox virus  is spreading rapidly among children in the DRC and Burundi, with cases more than doubling since a public health emergency was declared in mid-August.
READ MORE
default-image

12 Nov 2024

Global

COP29: CHILDREN CALL ON WORLD LEADERS TO ACT AS CLIMATE DISASTERS THREATEN THEIR HOMES, EDUCATION, AND LIVES

Children are calling on world leaders meeting at the COP29 Summit in Azerbaijan to include children’s needs in their response to the climate crisis. Photos and link to the full press conference available here. 
READ MORE