'Maybe we’ll all go together, peacefully, in our sleep'
A Ukrainian mother has described the horror of her last days in her home country before seeking refuge in Ireland.
“You look up at the sky and realise that there is no salvation. You feel defenceless, insignificantly small, and helpless in the face of a force that kills.”
The words of Ukrainian mum of two, Tetiana Samoilova, who is desperately searching for a home for her and her family in Cork for Christmas.
On 8 July this year, a Russian rocket impacted right next to her youngest child’s school and not far from the family home. That was the last straw and Tetiana had no other choice but to flee, leaving her husband of 20 years behind who was deemed “useful” to the Ukrainian army.
Tetiana, who is qualified in nursing and paediatrics, is now asking anyone in Cork city and county that might have a vacant property to get in touch so that she can offer her boys, Zakhar and Tadei, something close to a stable home this Christmas.
The initial shelter and aid offered to Tetiana and her young family on arrival in Ireland is set to run out soon, but she can still avail of the Irish Government’s ARP Programme which guarantees a payment of €800 a month, which she will use to pay rent and any utility bills needed.
“It always starts with a sound,” Tetiana told the Cork Independent of the horror of surviving the bombing of her town.
Of the terrifying cry of the air-raid siren and constant threat of bombing, she said: “It seems that a heavy, overwhelming roar is coming from the very bowels of the earth. It pulsates, rising and falling.
“At some point, it feels unbearable. You start to ignore the air raid warning. It feels cruel to wake the kids from their warm beds just to drag them into the cold, uncertain darkness of shelter. You tell yourself, maybe this is fate? If it’s going to happen, maybe we’ll all go together, peacefully, in our sleep.
“When danger comes close again, the fear rushes back. Fear for your children. On 8 July, when a rocket struck our school and the apartment building next door, it was devastating. Thirteen lives were lost, people we knew from the yard, classmates my children played with and talked about,” added Tetiana.
Tatiana, who said she is incredibly grateful for the welcome she has received in Ireland, said finding employment and a safe home this Christmas for her young family is her only goal.
“Christmas this year will be far from home, but we are making it special in our own way,” she said.
“St Nicholas even visited the children. When my youngest noticed that St Nicholas hadn't left me anything, he gave me one of his candies. It was such a sweet moment that I had to brush away my tears. Moms have to be strong.”