“I was on the evacuation train and celebrated my birthday on the way, going to Rennes!” Vasylyna Golovnya prefers to laugh at this situation. On February 27, three days after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, the young woman celebrated her 30th birthday, whileshe was fleeing kyivhis hometown.
After a short stay in Poland, she took the direction of Rennes, leaving behind her parents, her apartment and her cat. “We had to stay lucid, and make these decisions. Pack our bags, wonder what will happen to my family…”, she explains. The choice of Rennes is not insignificant: it is here that Vasylyna began her studies when she was 18 years old. In all, she will have spent seven years in France, which is why she speaks French so well. She also puts this asset to good use by working, on a voluntary basis, at the prefecture. It helps Ukrainians who have just arrived in Brittany with their administrative procedures.
A role of psychologist
“What does it feel like when you can’t explain, when you can’t understand things, when you’re lost, when you’ve left your home that maybe no longer exists?”she asks herself. “I try to be useful.” Vasylyna is not content with translating and interpreting, since she faces a population fleeing war and its traumas. “During my permanence, I had people who arrived from eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv or other cities which were very affected. Their mental state was quite particular. I had a mission as a psychologist, so that I am not a psychologist”.
In addition to this volunteering, Vasylyna must also move forward with her own initiatives: find a job and an apartmentthe time that the situation calms down in his country.