Her house burned down, her husband died. Evacuation story of a mother of 11 children from Rubizhne
However, after russia’s attack on Ukraine, everything changed. At the beginning of March, russian occupiers started to destroy Rubizhne; the family had to stay in the basement for more than a week, and then their 12-year-old son was injured by a shell fragment. It got clear they had to evacuate. The woman managed to leave with the children, but her husband stayed in the city. On March 30, Iryna and her children were shaken by the news: their house burned to the ground, and their dear father and husband is dead...
Iryna told her war story to the editors of Evacuation.City.
When the War Started
Rubizhne Lyceum was my major workplace. There I worked as a deputy director for experimental work and a history and law teacher. I am also a trainer of several national and international programs for the development of civic competence of both students and adults.
In addition, I am a mother of a family-type orphanage (FTO), which my husband and I founded in 2012. Now I am raising 10 children aged 4–18 deprived of parental care. I also have a biological daughter.
When the full-scale war began, we did not think about leaving. Besides me, my husband, and 11 children, my father lived with us. We didn’t have a large enough vehicle to evacuate us all.
We stayed at home until heavy shelling of our district began on March 12. Since then, we almost constantly stayed in our house’s basement for a week. On March 19, during a night shelling, my 12-year-old son Sashko was wounded: a shell fragment hit his forearm. This was a trigger — we realized that we had to evacuate.
The Tselukhin family on a walk
Evacuation: Shelling and an Air Raid
At that time, our district became the front line involving active military operations. It was already very difficult to leave. I asked the state government organization “Save Ukraine” and volunteers for help.
On March 23, I received a message from a stranger who said he would help us evacuate. It was a volunteer from the city of Sloviansk, a church organization representative. I never understood how this volunteer found out about us. When I asked him about this, he showed a photo of an unknown girl and said that it was she who shared the information that we needed help. I think my colleagues and local activists shared our story. The organizations knew that we have a FTO, 11 children, and no possibility to evacuate.
In the morning of March 24, the volunteer came to pick us up in a delivery van, and, under shelling, I left Rubizhne with the children. My husband stayed at home to protect the house so that the children had somewhere to return to.
It was a very risky trip. When we left Rubizhne, we faced shelling and an air raid. The volunteer was indeed courageous. He clearly realized when to slow down and when, on the contrary, to speed up under these attacks. Fortunately, everyone survived and we managed to leave.
First, we came to Sloviansk. The way from Rubizhne took a bit more than an hour. In Slovyansk, we got help from the “Sails of Hope” shelter for children. We could eat and spend a night there. From this shelter, we were taken to the west of Ukraine since its representatives were going there for humanitarian aid. From 7 a.m. and until midnight, we were on the way, making only one stop for about an hour.
Apart from shelling in the beginning, there were no complications on the way. I was worried about the children, especially the youngest one, for I thought that it would be too difficult for him. I didn't know how he would behave in the car, whether he would be naughty or feel nausea. But everything was fine.
The children were so frightened by what they had seen at home that the way, difficult as it was, was not a problem at all. We were ready to endure everything to get out of that hell. The children behaved well during the evacuation, they understood why we had to leave home.
When we left Rubizhne, we didn’t know where we were going to — at that time we just had to leave. I know many people all over Ukraine, so finding a shelter and other help was a bit easier in this case. Already on our way to Sloviansk, I was calling my friends and looking for where we should go. It was clear that we would go to the west of Ukraine, but where exactly — that we decided along the way. Thus I arranged that we would be met in Ivano-Frankivsk region, in the village of Mezhyhirtsi.
Evacuation of the family
Living in Prykarpattia Village
We got there at midnight. Here, the Dubovets territorial community met us. Despite the late hour, we were welcomed and fed. They actually met us very warmly and created very good conditions.
We live in a school now. We were given a separate wing, that is three small classrooms. Besides us, three more families live in the school: from Mariupol, Lysychansk, and Rubizhne. We were given bedclothes and everything necessary for life. For the displaced people, the community installed a washing machine in the school and shower cabins where one can wash were organized in the village council.
We cook food in the school kitchen located separately near the school. We have everything we need for life. Volunteers and the village community constantly ask us if we need anything. By the way, they are very offended if we say that we’ve got everything and we need nothing more.
There are no kindergartens here, so I teach the youngest kid on my own. The older children studied remotely at the school we live in. We took no gadgets with us, so they joined the lessons through video communication using phones.
As a teacher, I should say that the education level here is not what it should be. But in the conditions we find ourselves in, school is not the most important thing. We will catch up with the program at the beginning of the next year. Today, the most important thing is that we are safe.
Vyshyvanka day
We Need to Start a New Life
We were welcomed in the school, but we will not stay here permanently. Now we urgently need a house.
In the neighboring village of Tustan, a large house designed for four owners is currently being rebuilt. The village council says we can eventually move there. There are also talks about the construction of special modular houses for large families, foster families, and family-type orphanages. For now, that's just talk. However, we are waiting for some concrete decisions from the state regarding permanent housing ‘cause we have nowhere to return to.
Never in our 31 years of happy married life did we divide work into female and male one, he could do everything. The children loved being with dad because it was fun and interesting with him, especially in summer at the apiary. With dad, they could fish, swim, or visit other cities. He would teach them to drive a car and repair furniture and much more.
My husband stayed to protect our home, and now the children have neither home, nor father.... These children had already been deprived of parental care once, and the war deprived them of their father for the second time. We can't believe it. It’s very painful to accept.
My dad, thank God, was able to save himself due to our friends — they helped him leave. We now understand that even when the war ends and Rubizhne will be rebuilt, we will still have to stay somewhere for the next year or two. Well, and recover from the horrible events...
Psychiatrist Andriy Samoilenko helps us online for free. When I or my children need it, we make an appointment and talk to him. We try to gradually relieve the tension and somehow explain the situation to the children. Also, a local psychologist regularly comes and works with the kids.
In addition, a charitable organization supports us. Its representatives come to us almost every week and organize an entertainment and educational program for the children. For example, the last time they drew with the kids. We are invited to master classes, taken on excursions. There is a stadium, a playground, and a lot of sports equipment on the school grounds — in short, you definitely won't be bored.
In the future, we want to return to Rubizhne. We understand that it definitely won’t happen in the near future, but we believe that life in the city will recover someday.
We were offered to go abroad to different countries, but the children were categorically against it — they said no, we are staying in Ukraine and will try to return. For now, we have nowhere to return to. Not only our house was completely destroyed, but also the whole city. It will take a long time to rebuilt it all. We really hope that we will be given a house, because children who were deprived of parental care need not only a sense of family, but also a sense of home.
