Olha Babitska was born on 29th October 1986 in the city of Nikopol, Dnipro region. At the age of 18, Olha suffered
a spinal injury and has been using a wheelchair since then.

The woman became a mentor on disability acceptance for children and adults. She used to work with Aqua NGO in Nikopol. She also was a private entrepreneur in trade.Until 24th February 2022, Olha Babitska lived with her husband Serhiy in the city of Chervonohrad, Lviv region.

THE BEGINNING

OF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

The day before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Olha and her husband had inflammatory processes due to the wounds they had developed as a result of using wheelchairs. On the morning of 24th February, they urgently needed to see a doctor.

I called the ambulance, and they said: ‘No one is here. Doctors are at war.’ What was happening was just terrible. They gave me some advice on the phone. And I realised that that was all. If it gets even worse, no one will help me”.

Olha checked with her husband, and they decided that they needed to save their health and, in the long run, their lives.

SAVING LIVES

On 3rd March, Olha and Serhiy left Chervonohrad in the direction of Poland.

We set off like this: two carts and two small bags that you can put on your knees. We couldn’t take our things in our hands. We could only put them on the cart or on our knees. And that’s why the bags were of such a size — the size of our knees [smiling — editor’s note]. We also took several backpacks with documents, medical records, passports, diapers, catheters, urine bags, wet wipes, medicines, bandages, plasters, ointments, and antiseptics for wounds. And that’s how we left. It was very scary. We didn’t even know where we were going and what was gonna happen.”

The couple did not have a specific evacuation route. Thanks to a friend from social networks, they managed to contact Tatyana, an activist of the Fight For Right NGO who helped them with the organisation of the evacuation.

Olha and Serhiy did not stay long at the Uhryniv checkpoint. At that time, there were no queues at all. On the Polish side, they were met by volunteers and helped to board a bus that was heading to the nearest refugee centre.

They gave us food, it was warm there. They also gave us soups, teas, coffee, and helped us with our things. They gave us shampoo, toothpaste, a brush and some food for the road. They gave us Polish SIM cards. We were very well received”.

A few hours later, a volunteer found by a member of Fight For Right came to pick up Olha and Serhiy: he offered to go to Krakow and stay there for a few days.On the way to Krakow, Tatyana contacted Olha and suggested that they evacuate to Germany.

I received the following message from Tanya [the activist from the Fight For Right NGO — editor’s note]: ‘What about Germany?’ And we were like: ‘What do you mean, Germany? What’s going on?’ [laughing — editor’s note]. We were so afraid to go to Poland, and here she says ‘Germany’. We didn’t know the language, we didn’t know anything. So me and my husband, we were just sitting and looking at each other like: ‘Well, what are we gonna do? Should we really go?”.

ARRIVAL IN GERMANY

On 7th March, Olha and Serhiy Babitski left for Berlin. There they were accommodated in an apartment where German diplomats stay.

We were shocked. We were thinking: ‘God, where did they send us?’ There’s war in the country, and we’re here in Berlin in the ambassadors’ hostel… So my husband said: ‘Okay, everyone, get up! I’m going to give a speech here, where the flags are.’ He said: ‘Glory to Ukraine! Everything will be fine, we will win.’ — and so on”.

Фото 2. Кімната з паркетом і світлими стінами. У куті стоять три прапори заввишки з людину: Євросоюзу, Німеччини й біло-зелений Саксонії. Перед стягами позують Ольга та її чоловік Сергій на кріслах колісних, а також шатен у діловому костюмі, що присів поряд. Ольга в чорному гольфі, чорних штанах і чорних кросівках із білими шнурками. Її волосся зав’язане у хвіст, на довгих нігтях зелений лак. Жінка всміхається, поклавши руку на коліно Сергія. Це повний чоловік із чорним зачесаним набік волоссям і карими очима. Він має вуса у формі напівкола та недовгу, проте густу бороду. На Сергієві зелена кофта, чорні штани та коричневі кросівки. Він щось говорить, дивлячись у камеру. Ліворуч сидить навпочіпки та спершись на одне коліно всміхнений чоловік років тридцяти. У нього густе каштанове волосся, світлі очі та рум’яні щоки. Чоловік одягнений у білу сорочку з синьою краваткою, чорні штани та туфлі й синю куртку.

The next day, 8th March, the couple went to the hospital to have their wounds examined by doctors. There they were tested for coronavirus and found themselves positive.

They could not stay in the hospital because they did not have insurance. Nor could they stay in the apartment where the diplomats were to arrive in the coming days. They had to move to a refugee centre in Berlin. There, the couple was provided with a separate, rather large room adapted for wheelchair users.

We were locked up, almost locked up, for ten days. They told us we were in quarantine and we couldn’t go out. We are conscientious: if we can’t, we can’t. They didn’t give us food — I mean, they would bring it once in a while if they remembered. A day passed like that, then two, then three. And then we started thinking what to do and called a volunteer translator, a young guy who had been helping us. We said: ‘Here’s the situation: they don’t bring us anything to eat but also don’t let us out to the store. Even if they bring some food, some men from Pakistan cook it, and it’s impossible to eat.’ It was very spicy and sour. And then this translator helped us and passed us some food, so we finally had something to eat”.

At the end of March, after the quarantine period, the staff of the asylum centre approached Olha and Serhiy and told them that they had to leave urgently within two hours. They were desperate because the housing in Bavaria where they planned to move was to be vacated only in three weeks.

Tatyana came to the rescue again and booked the couple a hotel for two days in Berlin. The hotel was located near the bus station where there was a field kitchen for Ukrainian refugees. This allowed Olha and Serhiy not only to eat for the next few days but also to meet Ukrainian women and men with similar experiences.

“WELCOME”

On 27th March, the couple headed to their temporary accommodation in Bremen.

We are driving, and driving, and then we stop near that house [in which the couple was temporarily accommodated — editor’s note], and there are people shouting something from its windows. I had no idea who these people were. So I come a little closer and see that those people in the windows, they hold the Ukrainian flag and shout: ‘Welcome Ukraine!’ We were so shocked. Then we enter the house, and there are children with postcards and with a cake with smiley faces. And they say to us: ‘Welcome!’ I started crying, it was so touching. They greeted us like we were some ambassadors, you know? Then they cut this cake, and it was yellow and blue inside, you know?”

Фото 3. Простора кухня з білими стінами, паркетом горіхового кольору та біло-блакитним дерев’яним гарнітуром. На дальній стіні — панорамне вікно із червоними шторами, що виходить на зелену вулицю із сучасними будинками. У кімнаті так само багато рослин. Посередині стоїть стіл, накритий зеленою скатертиною в цяточку та уставлений тарілками з борщем. За ним позує товариство з дев’яти людей: подружжя Бабіцьких і ще шестеро жінок і чоловік. Ольга та Сергій сидять по лівий бік столу найближче до краю. Вона з пучком, у сірому светрі та чорних штанах, він у чорній футболці. Решта людей у теплих кофтах або светрах. Серед них — двоє коротко стрижених жінок років шістдесяти, сивий чоловік їхнього віку у медичній масці, двоє дівчат років двадцяти і ще одна старша, а також юна на вигляд темношкіра дівчина. Усі всміхаються.

Suddenly, a woman from Bavaria with whom Olha had been in contact about housing informed them that they could already move in. Therefore, four days later Olha and Serhiy went to the village of Saal an der Donau near the city of Kelheim in Bavaria.

They were settled in a centre for the elderly where they were allocated two small rooms.

The biggest challenge for the couple is the language barrier. While Olha and Serhiy have been trying to learn the language they have been fortunate to meet local Ukrainians and Poles who are helping them to settle in and adapt to the new social and medical systems.

Фото 6. Уздовж сонячної вулиці стоять прилавки з їжею та напоями. Один із них має жовто-блакитну вивіску з написом «Українські страви» німецькою мовою. Ольга сидить поряд на чолі столу, де розкладені стрічки та нитки різних кольорів. Вона вдягнена в бежеву майку та світло-сині джинси, має золоту каблучку з чорною вставкою та браслет у тому самому стилі. Волосся, що вже золотисто-біляве, розпущене. Також у жінки невелике тату на плечі у вигляді пишної квітки, чорний манікюр і макіяж: злегка підведені очі, підфарбовані вії та губи в насичено-рожевій помаді. Ольга плете щось із ніжно-рожевих стрічок, моток яких лежить у неї на колінах. Вона із усмішкою поглядає в камеру. Трохи далі за столом схилилася над своїм виробом дівчинка з хвостиком.

Фото 8. Погожий день на широкій охайній вулиці. Подружжя на кріслах колісних позує перед світлим триповерховим будинком із вивіскою «Чайний дім». Він у старонімецькому стилі: з невеликими прямокутними вікнами й темними дерев’яними балками на фасаді. Один із зовнішніх кутів другого поверху оздоблений багатою різьбою та піддашшям над вікнами. Високий чорно-червоний дах прикрашає витончена вежа зі шпилем із фігуркою сонця. Ольга та Сергій усміхаються, прихилившись одне до одного. Жінка в білій футболці, сірих спортивних штанах і кедах. На ній сонцезахисні окуляри у формі котячого ока та яскраво-червона помада. Волосся зібране у хвіст. Дмитро вдягений у білу футболку, сірі шорти, кросівки та чорну кепку. Позаду гуляють чи сидять на напівкруглих лавках навколо молодих дерев інші люди.

Olha and Serhiy join volunteer initiatives in their village of Saal an der Donau: they conduct workshops for children as well as cook and sell traditional Ukrainian products. They use the earned money to buy humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees.

Фото 10. У прилавку з вивіскою «Українські страви» та перед ним позують жінки, чоловіки, — зокрема й Дмитро на кріслі колісному, — та діти. Четверо людей стоять усередині, вісім — на вулиці. Усі мають на грудях жовто-блакитні стрічки з червоним серцем посередині.

Olha Babitska