Slaven Vujic's Blog, page 8

Beautiful End to a Difficult Journey from Lysychansk and Severodonetsk

Six frightened people. One 3,5-year-old child. One disabled person. Three cars. 1950 km from Ukraine to Croatia.

That’s the short story. A longer one begins in Severodonetsk where Tamara, her 24-year-old daughter Bogdana and 3,5-year-old Savely saw the end of their peaceful lives. Russia started shelling their city, moving them to basements. They lived there for two weeks, together with their neighbors and friends, sharing poverty, sickness, and sleepless nights. Eventually, they escaped to Lysychansk to share the same horrors with Olena and Andrei, the parents of Bogdana’s husband. Two days before the war Andrei suffered a stroke and was trapped in his body when the Russian rockets started destroying everything they hold most dear. After two more weeks in the basement, the family managed to hire a driver that took them to Dnipro. It was anything but a peaceful journey; explosions followed them until they reached safety. Relative safety, as days in Dnipro are also painfully colored by sirens and rocket hits.

They reached out to us asking for help with food and medicines. Our volunteer Sasha visited them soon after, just to learn how difficult problems the family is facing. We decided to pay them a new visit and explore options. We found them in a small room in the apartment where 16 people have found their shelter after fleeing homes. We knew they can’t live there for much longer. The decision was made and soon after they were Googling “Croatia”.

Ten days later they were on their first journey outside of Ukraine. From Dnipro to Vinnytsia, from Vinnytsia to the border with Hungary in Zahony. From Zahony to Varaždin, Croatia. I’ll share more videos from the journey soon.

I didn’t see many beautiful ends in Ukraine. Let me hold on to this one for a while.

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Twelve Days Through Hell: The Story of Macan and Viktoria from Mauripol

It was early morning in Zahony, Hungary, at the train station just a 5 min walk to the Tysa River that separates Hungary from Ukraine. We had a pretty steady influx of refugees coming from eastern Ukraine mostly and I was having my first-morning coffee with my buddy Alex. About 100 people came out of the morning train from Chop. We were relieved that it was going to be a less hectic morning in the tent, where the city of Zahony served hot meals to refugees from the early days of the war.

When I first saw Macan and Svitlana I knew they had come with a difficult story. They were eating their breakfast quickly, obviously heavily traumatized, and still under enormous pressure. I couldn’t just watch so I joined them by wishing them “Dobroho ranku,” (Good Morning) I quickly learned that Macan speaks my language (Croatian) since he has Bosnian roots. That simple greeting led Macan and Viktoria telling me of their horrific 12-day-long story.

When Mariupol was first attacked, they were simply shocked. No one is prepared for such horrible events. Their days and nights were covered by dust; they lived in the basement, and they wandered around the streets of Mariupol to try to find food and water. They decided to leave the city but had second thoughts because they wanted to help their neighbors, who were elderly and in constant need of help and support. Every morning they visited them with some food, cooked them tea or coffee, and spend some time with them under sounds of total destruction. Every day they witnessed their city being wiped away and everything they held most dear being destroyed. Running down the streets of Mariupol they saw dead bodies, children wandering around, and people screaming and crying for help. They decided it was time to save their own lives, so they loaded their car, hoping the roads are still accessible. However, on the morning of their departure, a rocket destroyed their car, and they were forced to start the journey on their foot. They simply packed some food and water for the road and with two backpacks only they left Mariupol.

Then, the real story began.

“In just a couple of days I became homeless, a thief and a beggar”, said Viktoria while squeezing my hand hard.
“I was stealing food whenever possible, clothes too. I feel ashamed for thinking only about our survival”, she added through tears.

Viktoria from Mauripol

Macan’s lips were still shaking while he was trying to explain their route:

“First, we had to cross about 115 km through the occupied territory. We stayed away from the roads and walked about 15-20 km/day. We slept in the forest, under the bridge, in abandoned houses. Dozens of times we thought we are going to get caught; we were scared to death.

We met many other people fleeing Mariupol as well, but everyone was focused on their own survival. We were just focused on the next step and that was the city of Berdyansk, about 115 km from Mariupol. We heard that humanitarian corridors are available from Berdyansk, so this was our only hope at that time – to reach the city on foot.”

After an exhausting journey, Macan and Viktoria finally reached Berdyansk only to learn that buses were not that frequent, and they could be facing a long waiting time. They received the number 61 but since there was no space available on the next bus, they were reluctant to simply stay and wait. No one was able to say if the humanitarian corridors were going to be opened again and when the next bus is leaving.

The next day they made the decision to continue their journey to the border with Hungary on foot (1000 km+), hoping their luck would change.

“From that point, the journey was a bit easier since we were out of the occupied territory. We had no money, and we were often hungry, but along the road, we found some help. We were given several rides and then the UA army drove us quite close to the train. When we took our free train to the border, we were so happy to be alive. We had no money, so we relied on the help of good people, but after an exhausting journey, we were so happy just to have some water and food. The next big problem was how to reach Tallinn in Estonia from the Ukraine/Hungary border, and here we are now, out of Ukraine, going to Budapest by free train,” said Macan almost in one breath.

I listened to their story, and I don’t know how I managed not to cry. Viktoria’s tears were shining bright like the biggest stars in the sky.

I took some money from my pocket, which was simply my gas money. I gave the money to Viktoria while her hand was shaking.

“See, I’m a beggar. I apologize for accepting your help,’’ she said and wiped her tears.

“No, you are not. You are my friend,”  I said and I really felt that, deep inside my heart. These are my people, I said to myself. We are Ukraine.

Up to that point Flaming Beacon, a small group of drivers was simply evacuating people without diving deep into their stories. We didn’t ask many questions during the evacuations as most people were quiet and focused on reaching the border. By sitting with Macan and Viktoria for an hour, I realized what kind of hell these people were coming from.

The train for Budapest was about to leave. I accompanied Viktoria and Macan to the train, and we hugged like old friends. In the eyes of those people, I saw the best version of me. Right there, while waving them goodbye, I decided to go deep into Ukraine to share my days with thousands of people who are not able to flee Ukraine. I felt that there are thousands of stories to be told, truths to be revealed, and lives to be saved.

Seven days later I was happy to receive this photo: Macan and Viktoria reunited with their daughter in Tallinn, Estonia:

The story of Macan and Viktora was featured in Espresso.

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VIDEO Interview for TV Channel «Відкритий» Dnipro

When they first told me that I’m about to have a 20-min interview in Ukrainian, I was first thinking “well, that’s your chance to embarrass yourselves in front of many eyes”. But, I like challenges, so I accepted.

We talked about Flaming Beacon’s projects in Ukraine, my Ukrainian language skills, and my mission and goals. I also explained that we had quite a similar war in Croatia 30 years ago and I still remember the pain and suffering of my people.

The title says that we have helped more than 1,000 Ukrainians since March 5th, 2022.
Yes, WE. I was just a guy behind ideas and behind wheels. So many people joined our Flaming Beacon World Team and supported us in many ways. I feel humbled by the fact that people from all over the world offered love to Ukrainians and me, too.

Oh yes, I finally learned to write my own name in Ukrainian Cyrillic

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GALLERY: Young Faces of the War

Taking photos wasn’t exactly my priority when I met the first groups of refugees at the border with Ukraine. However, I decided to take these photos so we can never forget the cruelty of aggression against Ukraine. More than 400 children are killed, and many more are wounded in this war.

These kids are “lucky” to be just refugee kids.

[See image gallery at slavenvujic.com]

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VIDEO Newsroom Dnipro Interview

Newsroom Dnipro is a new media project in Dnipro that offers news from Ukraina in a creative format.
This young crew is doing an amazing job and I gladly accepted their interview request. We mostly talked about our projects in Ukraine, but also about my language skills

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Official Thank you Letter from the Dnipro City Council

We were honored to receive an official Thank you letter from the Dnipro City Council for our Envelopes of Hope project.

The letter was also addressed to me personally, which I accept as a great honor. During this project, we distributed 50 Envelopes of Hope, of which 17 were distributed in the Dnipro Social Service Center.
Inside every envelope, internally displaced people could find 3,000 UAH (~$100) and a heartwarming message in English, written by my social media followers.

Here’s the translated version of the letter:

“Municipal Institution of Dnipro City Council ”Dnipro Social Services Center” expresses the deepest gratitude for providing financial assistance to 17 displaced people who found temporary shelter in our Center. We are sincerely grateful for your compassion, respect, and care shown to our people in need of help. May you find success in all your endeavors. May all the good you have done with such passion come back to you tenfold, and your good deeds will never be a heavy burden to you but a noble mission. With the deepest respect, the First Deputy Head Olga Meshko”

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Thank you Letter from the Ukrainian Association of the Blind

It was a real honor to receive a Thank you letter from the Association of the Blind, Dnipro:

“The administration of the Enterprise of the Association of the Citizens ”Dnipro training- production Enterprise of the Ukrainian Association of the Blind” that currently also serves as the Center for Internally Displaced People expresses deep gratitude for providing 90,000 hryvnias of financial aid to 30 displaced people with special needs. We wish you success and hope for future cooperation after the war ends. Respectfully, the Head of the Enterprise – Sergiy Kit”

Read more about our Envelopes of Hope project.

Sergey Kit, director

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Delivering Aid to Mechnikova Hospital in Dnipro

Mechnikova Hospital is one of the largest medical institutions in Ukraine. I was heavily impressed by how they adjusted to the realities of war; the care they provide for wounded soldiers is exceptional.
Inside the hospital, you can find hardworking volunteers handling donations. We chipped in with crutches we bought earlier, but the needs of the hospital are much, much greater. My mission going forward is to create a network of contacts that will deliver more help to the hospital.

Mechnikova Hospital Aid

Update: 9 days later president Zelensky visited the hospital and the donation center:

President Zelensky Visiting Mechnikova Hospital

Good morning from Mechnikova hospital in Dnipro. We delivered crutches today and we learned more about their specific needs. pic.twitter.com/wJiuSXKpMz

— Slaven Vujic Flaming Beacon (@slaven_vujic) July 2, 2022

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GALLERY: Delivering Envelopes of Hope in Dnipro

In collaboration with City Council of Dnipro, we delivered 50 Envelopes of Hope for internally displaced people in Dnipro.

[See image gallery at slavenvujic.com]

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50 Envelops of Hope Distributed in Dnipro

Official reports say that they are 10+ million internally displaced people in Ukraine at this moment. When we add refugees who crossed the border seeking a new home to this number, simple math says that over 30% of Ukrainians have been forced to find a new place to live.
Ukrainians use a special word for internally displaced people – “pereselentsi”. No one can know the exact numbers officials in Dnipro estimate that 400.000+ pereselentis are seeking shelter, of which 20.000+ are 60+ years old.

The best address to look for more info on the topic was the Department of Youth Policy and National-Patriotic Education of the Dnipro City.
We arranged a meeting with their representatives to discuss a possible collaboration. We asked for very specific information about what kind of help is the most needed at the moment. The answer was pretty straightforward – money. Many of these people have nowhere to return to; their homes have been destroyed along with all their belongings. We can call them refugees or pereselentsi but in fact they are simply poor, homeless people who need money to buy medicines, bus tickets, and other essentials not included in humanitarian aid.

After the meeting, we sat down with our generous donors and discussed the options. That’s how the Envelopes of Hope project was born – we decided to put 3,000 UAH ($100) inside each envelope, along with a warmhearted message in English. Our social media community welcomed the idea and we received 100+ beautiful messages from all over the world.

The Department of Youth Policy and National-Patriotic Education organized the event and we simply distributed our first fifty Envelopes of Hope to 50 families, providing relief to 150+ people.

Please check the video of this heartbreaking but also very touching event:

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