Three members of the LGBTIQ Ukrainian community who have participated in ORAM’s longer-term housing program discuss one year since the war in Ukraine began.
Pictured: Three people wearing the Ukrainian flag at Berlin Pride, 2022.
One year ago, Sasha and Olga, a queer Ukrainian couple, lived an everyday life in Kyiv. “Prior to the war, our life in Ukraine was wonderful. We had jobs, stability, and we [had] planned to travel,” Olga shared with ORAM from Kyiv. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, changed all that.
When the war began, Olga, Sasha, Sasha’s eight-year-old son, Igor, and their dog, Teesha, fled Kyiv for a small village in the west of Ukraine. The family made the difficult decision to leave Ukraine as the Russian missiles were scaring Igor. “He [Igor] is very sensitive...our plans are to come back to Kyiv. We very much want to come back to Ukraine,” Sasha told ORAM.
Kris, a queer Ukrainian, was also living in Kyiv last year, attending the Ukrainian Leadership Academy, a program to foster the personal and social development of motivated young Ukrainians. While there were rumors of increased Russian aggression, Kris dismissed the warning signs. “We rejected it in our minds because we didn’t want to believe it,” she told ORAM, “I was going for my morning run, and my friend told me that the war had started.”
Kris and her classmates were packing their bags when they began hearing explosions. “We were living in a building right next to the airport, and they started bombing the airport, so we felt the building shaking because explosions were just three meters from us,” Kris shared. To get to a shelter underground, Kris and her classmates had to go outside where they were staying. “We saw the mushroom shape of explosions. We went to the basement, and we were very scared, and we were singing because we were so scared,” she said.
Pictured: Kris, a proud Ukrainian whom ORAM has supported in Berlin.
Sasha and Olga’s family and Kris all ended up in Berlin after the war began. For Sasha and Olga, finding housing that could accommodate their family of four proved to be very challenging. “Two parents, one kid, and one dog is a lot for Berlin,” Sasha told ORAM, “there was no place to live together.”
The family was able to find short-term housing but grew tired of continuously moving. Due to these housing barriers, Sasha sacrificed living with Olga and began looking for rooms for her and Igor. “Olga was really in despair because [we] were living apart and because she was homesick. We wanted security as we had back home,” Sasha remembered.
Before fleeing to Berlin, Kris spent over a month in Ukraine, where she volunteered her time to support her fellow Ukrainians. “I felt that I was doing something good, and I didn’t really want to go outside of Ukraine, but also, we didn’t know what to expect,” Kris shared on her challenging decision to eventually leave Ukraine. “My parents were very scared and said, ‘even if you are safe now, you don’t know where you will be tomorrow.’ So, I moved to Berlin,” she said.
For Sasha and Olga in Berlin, relief came when they connected with ORAM. “Our best time in Berlin was [with] the ORAM program,” Sasha shared. In August, Sasha and Olga met with ORAM’s Ukraine Program Manager, Camille Ogoti, who asked them what they needed the most. Sasha remembers telling Camille, “Anything to get some rest.” Camille got a hotel room for the family for three weeks in Berlin’s city center. “Even with a kid and a dog!” Sasha exclaimed while giggling.
ORAM is also covering the cost of rent for Kris in an apartment she found in Berlin. “I realized it was difficult to cover rent [while waiting] for the[German government]job center. I did not want to lose this apartment because I had finally found it. Now, my landlords can get money, and I don’t need to worry about waiting for the job center,” Kris explained about waiting three months to hear back from the government job center.
Experiencing war has forever changed Sasha, Olga, and Kris.
“War changes the minds of people, and I couldn’t really understand it before, and I didn’t really realize how nations and society changes,” Kris reflected on how things changed one year ago. “I feel that I became more angry in a way because I realized a lot, and I realized that I need to fight for my freedom. I need to fight for some basic things to have that others have already,” she shared.
Sasha felt very similarly. “I see people partying in Berlin, and [they’re] so easygoing. I just look at them, and I feel separate from them. I feel much more weight... [The] lightness, after you have seen so much, has died in me. So much has happened to the people and the lands,” she told ORAM.
Although their stories differ, Kris, Sasha, and Olga are united in their love for their homeland. They all cannot wait to return to Ukraine as soon as the war is over. Despite obstacles and darkness, the future of Ukraine is bright. “It has been a lot on us; all Ukrainians have grown older. But I still believe in a better future,” Sasha shared confidently.
Pictured: The Ukrainian flag flying strong at the Ukrainian/Polish border.
ORAM continues to address the greatest needs of LGBTIQ Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. Donations to ORAM will help us obtain more apartments to provide safe and stable housing to queer Ukrainians in Germany and beyond. Donate here to support ORAM’s efforts to protect LGBTIQ Ukrainians.