In front of the town hall of Savigneux, Tuesday evening, Sylvie Bouchet paces. She watches her phone. “According to the GPS, they arrive at 6:37 p.m.” For four days, her husband, André Bouchet, has been crossing Europe. 3,000 kilometers, round trip.
“They leave their men, their country, and don’t know for how long”
6:37 p.m., sharp. Five silhouettes emerge from the family car. Eyes swollen by a journey of several dozen hours, grueling, André Bouchet finds Sylvie. He immediately thinks of his passengers: Anna and her son Micha, Sacha and her daughter Kira. “The moms are nervously exhausted. They left their men, their country, and don’t know for how long. Anna is the wife of her Ukrainian friend Vadim, and Sacha is close to Anna. Here they are 2,400 km from home, in a country they do not know.
Two days ago, in the middle of the night, they were recovered in disaster with their children by André, at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in Sighetu. Leaving on Saturday morning at dawn, he crossed six countries to come to the aid of his friend.
André Bouchet has welcomed Vadim every summer in his house in Forez since 1998. He was only 9 years old. They have forged bonds “stronger than blood”. “We met him through a host association, Échange Rhône-Alpes Ukraine, for the children of Chernobyl,” recalls Sylvie Bouchet. Since then, Andre has witnessed Vadim’s wedding, is his son’s godfather, has visited his home in Zhytomyr several times.
When Russia militarily invaded Ukraine on February 24, the Foréz couple begged Vadim to get to the border as quickly as possible. A terrible decision: to leave his wife and son, and send them to safety in France. With his best friend, Vadim took their family to André, before saying goodbye. An unshakeable confidence in the one he has known for more than 20 years. “I promised him to take care of his loved ones,” he said on the way on Monday.
“It was the heart that spoke, not the reason”
6:45 p.m., Tuesday evening, in the parking lot of the town hall of Savigneux. Tears in his eyes, exhausted after a trip strewn with pitfalls, André does not want to be considered a hero. “I can’t speak of pride, pride is that of my children. It was the heart that spoke, not the reason. It’s a story of friendship. When we love someone, we are ready to go to the end of the world for him. I did it for Vadim. His blood does not flow in our veins, but it is in our hearts. That’s all. »
The two Ukrainian mothers are saved, but are completely lost. Their life changed in less than a week. Anna, 31, Micha in her arms, breaks down in tears when asked if she feels safe. Sacha, 33, alongside her 5-year-old daughter, whispers in English: “I am very worried about my family. I just want to be with my husband and my daughter in my house”. The emotion is too strong.
Her husband and Vadim stayed in touch with them the whole way. Mobilized like all Ukrainians aged 18 to 60, they left for Zhytomyr, where the fighting is getting closer, to protect the homeland. Without knowing when they will see their family again.