Kseniia and Osakna fled the war with their sons and daughters, but left many family and friends behind. They feel “privileged” because they are safe, and they appreciate the support they have received from the citizens of Oñati.
The stories of Kseniia and Osakna are like those of thousands of Ukrainians who have left their country after the Russian invasion, and they are also the stories of two women who feel “a little guilty” for having managed to walk away from the war, while others of his loved ones have not been able to do so.
The two are now in Oñati (Gipuzkoa) in Basque Government housing for refugees, where this afternoon they received a visit from the Director of Immigration and Asylum of the Basque Government, Xabier Legarreta, and the head of Zehar-Errefuxiatuekin, Arantza Chacón.
Kseniia Vinychenko has arrived with her three children, a girl and two boys, and Osakna Lezhnina He has done it with his daughter Natalia and her baby. They don’t know anyone in Euskadi, but they did have references, the first through a friend who has traveled with her and stayed in France and the second through references from the Chernobyl children’s reception program.
“We feel privileged and a little guilty because we are already protected, sleeping well and seeing smiles around us”, said Osakna in a meeting with the media, in which she explained that her husband, a son and her son-in-law have stayed in Irpin .
Kseniia, who comes from Vishgorod, also from the Kiev region, tearfully recounted that his mother is in his country, “hidden in a basement”, and that he has not been able to do anything for her. “I feel weak and powerless for not having been able to do anything to give him security,” she lamented.
The two families have left their country with barely the essentials. Osakna admits that he did not believe the invasion was going to happen, that he held out hope “until the last day.”
“I was certain that it was not going to come true, that the governments were going to find a solution. When my husband told me in the early hours of the 24th that the bombings had begun, I couldn’t believe it.“, he stated.
They are very grateful for the help they have received upon arriving in Euskadi, where their children have made new friends in these few days and feel “protected from war”. They maintain contact with their relatives in Ukraine via the Internet and Whatsapp.
“People smile at us and we have started to feel better”Osakna has assured, to which Kseniia has added words of gratitude to the “good people” who have offered their help.
A support that is manifesting itself from all corners of Euskadi, according to the director of Immigration and Asylum of the Basque Government, who has pointed out that there are more than 2,000 offers from individuals to welcome Ukrainian refugees.
Source: Eitb
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