(Promachónas) At the Greek-Bulgarian border, in gigantic queues, women and children fleeing the war in Ukraine pile into cars. But some men who refuse to take up arms also seek refuge in Greece.
Posted at 10:22
This is the case of Mykhaylo, 42, met by AFP at the Promachonas border post in northern Greece.
Despite the declared general mobilization in Ukraine and the ban on all men between the ages of 18 and 60 leaving the country, he managed to slip through the crowd and cross the border between Ukraine and Romania.
“I am a businessman based in Kyiv. I didn’t want to join the army. I don’t like weapons or war,” he said on condition of anonymity.
“I am a simple man who wants to live in security and peace. It’s unthinkable what’s happening right now,” exclaims the Ukrainian who is traveling with his 35-year-old wife in a luxury car.
The 40-year-old says he walked several kilometers to escape border controls between Ukraine and Romania.
PHOTO SAKIS MITROLIDIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Ukrainian refugees line up at the Promachonas border crossing in northern Greece.
“My wife, who has the right to leave the country, crossed the border by car,” says Mykhaylo.
As for him, he “was forced to walk for several hours on small paths to avoid checks and find myself safe in Romania”. “From there, we continued by car to Greece,” says the businessman.
He doesn’t consider himself a traitor and says he will support his country in other ways, but not by fighting.
” By what right ? »
“It is inconceivable for me to have to take up arms, and to have to kill someone if necessary. I can’t imagine doing such a thing. Who can force a person to this action? By what right ? he asks himself.
PHOTO SAKIS MITROLIDIS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“If necessary, I can help my country with money or in any other way, but not by taking up arms or participating in the fighting,” he insists.
The entrepreneur is going to Crete where some friends live.
“No matter what sanctions I may incur for my decision to leave my country. What I want is for all this nonsense to stop as soon as possible and for us to start living again, ”he hopes.
The couple “will stay in Greece as long as necessary”. Mykhaylo urges “not to get used to images of war. These are not video games. There are dead, soldiers, but also women and children.
Unimaginable “at 21and century »
About 7,900 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Greece at this point, according to the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection.
The vast majority are staying with relatives, and the camps prepared by the Greek government remain empty.
“We don’t feel like refugees,” says Marina Bodnar, 39, at the Greek-Bulgarian border.
Accompanied by her 7-year-old son, Timur, and her two nieces, Angelina and Kyria, aged 17 and 10, the mother of the family will be staying with her mother-in-law in Athens. “Until the end of the war and then we return to our homeland. I hope this nightmare will end very soon,” she told AFP.
Tetyana, 37, traveled by car from Odessa to Thessaloniki in northern Greece, where she is staying with a friend.
“I left behind my husband and my 19-year-old son who have no right to leave,” she says with tears in her eyes. “Who would have thought this could happen to 21and century? »