After a month of war with Russian troops, the welcome is well established in this shopping center in Zaporizhiain eastern Ukraine, now transformed into a center for displaced persons. Bags of clothes, registration desks and a hot meal: Helena has just arrived from Mariupol. This large city is one of the most affected by the Russian bombardments, which emptied it of most of its inhabitants. There are still 100,000 people there, who continue to flee the violence, and who see the prospect of a rapid end to the conflict dwindling.
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This first month of clashes has been far too long: “We spent 20 days in the shelter, with permanent bombardments… Day, night, always. We thought it was going to end soon, we waited, we waited. But it didn’t end.“So, with her son and her husband, Helena set out for an uncertain future.”We don’t want it, but we believe it will last. Coming here, we saw that there were really Russians everywhere. And we still don’t know where to go. Abroad, there is no accommodation. To rebuild a minimum of infrastructure in Mariupol, frankly, it will take time. Honestly I’m lost“.
Seated next door, Sergei, the build of a mover, swallows a plate of hotpot. He too left Mariupol, but he has a clearer idea of his future: “I am military. I already went to war in 2014 for Ukraine. I drive tanks. Once I get my wife and kids to safety, I’m going to fight.”, he blurts out. Before showing a little nervousness.
“The Russians aren’t going to back down. So it’s going to last. No less than six to eight months, I think. The withdrawal of the Russians isn’t going to happen overnight.”
Even for these displaced people, whose city is in ruins, the question is not whether Ukraine will win, but simply when. Irina Titova, psychologist, is there to comfort them: “It is really very hard psychologically. People are tired, very tired. All of Ukraine was worried about Mariupol. I don’t think the war will last. Because we have never seen such a union of the Ukrainian people.“
An optimism that does not prevent realism: since March 23, 2022, volunteers from the center for displaced people only come every other day. It is necessary to preserve the teams to last in the long term.