By: Sue Surkes, The Times of Israel, translated from English by Dana Nowak
A Ukrainian family in Mariupol, a city that has been heavily bombed and has had little contact with the outside world for days, risked everything to travel to a place where there is still telephone reception in order to send the message to their 14-year-old daughter in Israel: "We are still alive!".
On Tuesday, Viktoria Korotkova, who has found refuge with her husband and younger daughter Sofia, "Christians for Israel ." The organization, headquartered in the Netherlands, assists Jews immigrating to Israel and is also active in Ukraine.
It was "Christians for Israel"that in September financed a flight to Israel for Victoria's daughter Ksiusha as part of the Naale program of the Israeli immigration organization "Jewish Agency" for students from the former Soviet Union and other countries.
Ksiusha is currently attending a school in Jerusalem. Alina Gryadchenko, a field worker with Christians for Israel, told the Times of Israel what Korotkova told her on the phone: “We are living in complete isolation, in fear, danger, and without any hope of improvement. There is no electricity or water, no heating, no telephone connection.” She continued, “This is the only place where it is still possible to receive a signal. We risked our lives to drive there to make one or two calls and let our friends know we are still alive. We charge our phones using the running engine of the car, as long as we have enough diesel. When that runs out, we won't even have the means to stay in contact with the world. We are dirty, everyone looks like a beggar, and we get water from the sea. It has snowed for several days, and people are collecting snow to get drinking water. The shops are empty, there is nothing to eat, and it is cold all the time.”
Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine is a key Russian target. Capturing the city would help Moscow connect Crimea, which it seized in 2014, with the Russian-backed separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The city, the tenth largest in Ukraine, has been under siege and constant bombardment since February 24. It has been without electricity, gas, and internet since February 28.
Russians and Ukrainians have agreed three times to establish a humanitarian corridor through which the residents of Mariupol can leave the city, but each time the Russian armed forces continued shelling, according to Ukraine.
"We are afraid to leave because we don't trust that we won't be killed."
Viktoria Korotkova said: “Mariupol is in ruins. The city center is destroyed. There is nothing left. Mariupol no longer exists; it is dead.” She added: “Every day we are promised a corridor, but nothing happens. We are afraid to leave because we don't trust that we won't be killed. The trucks with supplies and humanitarian aid were on their way to Mariupol but had to turn back and return to Zaporizhzhia. I don't know how long this will last or if we will survive the blockade.”
Alina Gryadchenko, who took notes during the conversation and speaks fluent English, said: “Since the internet connection is very weak, Viktoria asked me to send her daughter a message to let her know they were still alive. I did. It was like a gift for International Women's Day. If only we could have celebrated with flowers and cake.”
With kind permission of the Israeli daily newspaper "Times of Israel", in which this article first appeared.
Here you can support the aid mission of Christians working alongside Israel in Ukraine: www.csi-aktuell.de/spenden
