“Lead to this culture of hospitality”, notes its mayor, Pierre Suzzarini, who recalls that the Huguenots of Trièves also experienced exile. He got involved at the start of the war by organizing a humanitarian convoy with other inhabitants of the sector. They sent donations there, and returned to five vehicles with around thirty refugees. These Ukrainians were welcomed by other collectives in the region. Mickaël and his mother Tania arrived through another channel and have been living for nearly a month with a couple from Mens. They come from the province of Donbass. Mickaël describes the destruction in his town of Roubijné, taken by the Russians and the separatists of Donbass: “There is no food, no water, no electricity, no telephone, no internet… We lived in the basement for three weeks, because outside there was constant gunfire. ‘artillery” – and he imitates the sound of gunfire – “bam! bam! bam!” With his mother, he therefore found himself behind the front line. They were able to leave the city via Russia, Georgia, Turkey… before arriving in France, in Lyon. And a Mens couple they were in contact with picked them up at the airport.
Sewing
Mickaël was a journalist for a local radio, his mother is a former history teacher. In the Trièves, they blow a little. Tania devotes herself to her passion, sewing. She makes doll dresses inspired by the traditions of her country. “It keeps me from thinking about the war, she says ; and then I can show people here in France the Ukrainian culture!” In the streets of Mens, Tania sometimes imagines herself in an Alexandre Dumas novel, she confides…expecting to meet the Three Musketeers! He misses his country, his friends too. Her husband remained in Ukraine, “but he is safe” she specifies.
Accommodation for two families
In the municipality, a collective has organized itself to help them, in particular for administrative procedures, health, etc. Mickaël has found a job at the village inn, and he is learning French. In the town next door, in Cornillon-en-Trièves, a couple and their daughter are welcomed. These Ukrainians are gradually making their mark in Trièves. Others will undoubtedly arrive soon. A mother was supposed to come with her five children, but she ended up staying in Ukraine with her husband who was injured on the forehead, explains Sophie, a volunteer in charge of accommodation. “So we are on alert because things are going very fast, she explains. And there we are in the process of furnishing, thanks to the generosity of the inhabitants of Trièves, an apartment which will be able to accommodate 8 to 10 people.”