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They celebrate Christmas in Switzerland, their men fight at the front. Two Ukrainian families on the pain of separation.
When Anastasiia Yushchenko and her husband Andriy said goodbye, he said: “I loved you.” A sentence in the past tense. Because Andriy went to the front. “I told him he shouldn’t say such a thing. He has to come back, »says Anastasiia in the «Rundschau».
Legend:
Anastasiia Yushchenko and her two daughters are looking at family photos on their cell phones in their apartment in Frutigen (BE) – with husband and father Andriy on them.
SRF
The young mother lives with her two daughters in Frutigen (BE). An apartment with one and a half rooms, toys everywhere, high mountains outside. They come from the big city, from Kyiv. “I worked a lot. Meanwhile, my husband looked after the children,” says Anastasiia.
fighting for the family
The war tore the family apart. Andriy is now digging trenches in the east. The “Rundschau” meets him on his day off in Kyiv. He is fighting the enemy so that his family can return to Ukraine and they can live a normal life together.
Legend:
Family man Andriy stayed in Ukraine.
SRF
Andriy tells of the front: «Silence is more frightening than explosions. Because when they suddenly stop shooting at you, you know they’re planning something big.”
In these moments, Anastasiia in Switzerland stares at her mobile phone screen and waits – for a sign of life. “Some people don’t understand why I sometimes react emotionally or cry. Because I have to expect something to happen to him every day, »she says.
Telephone from the front
Separating from the family is particularly difficult during the Christmas season. Tamara Muravytska’s husband is also a soldier in Ukraine, an officer. She fled to Wettingen (AG) with her daughter Margarita. She says: “I didn’t want to leave my husband behind. But at the same time I looked at my daughter and I knew I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her.”
When she arrived in Switzerland, Tamara was severely traumatized. “My daughter woke up at night when I screamed. She shook me and said, Mom, it’s okay.”
Legend:
Contact is maintained via mobile phone. Tamara Muravytska and her daughter are on the phone with Maksym, the husband and father.
SRF
Her husband Maksym sends her videos from the front. They make phone calls whenever possible. “I insisted that they flee. So I don’t have to find out every morning whether our house is still standing and whether they are safe,” he says.
They try to build up their life in Switzerland step by step. Margarita attends a local swimming club – she competed in competitive sports in Ukraine. But homesickness always catches up with her. Especially now. “We feel the Christmas spirit around us,” says Tamara. “But we don’t feel them in our hearts.”