In Ukraine, 1 Million Children Leave behind Lives, Friends

In Ukraine, 1 Million Children Leave behind Lives, Friends

After bombs started falling in her hometown of Kharkiv, Annamaria Maslovska left her friends, her toys and her life in Ukraine.

She began on a trip with her mother toward safety. The mother and daughter crossed the Hungarian border by train along with hundreds of other Ukrainian refugees¹. The 10-year-old girl said she had begun to worry about her friends in Kharkiv after phone messages she sent to them went unanswered.

"I really miss them because I can't contact them, they just read my messages and that's all. I really worry, because I don't know where they are," Annamaria said in English at the train station in the border town of Zahony.

Annamaria was raised alone by her mother. She is one of more than 1 million children who have fled Ukraine in the weeks since Russia first invaded the country. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder called it "a dark historical first."

The estimates mean that children represent half of the more than 2 million people who have fled the war. The U.N. refugee² agency calls it the fastest-growing refugee crisis³ in Europe since World War II. There have been cases of children having to make the trip out of Ukraine alone.

Most of those fleeing the war have entered countries on Ukraine's western border, including Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. The majority have gone into Poland. About 1.33 million refugees have crossed into that country, the Polish Border Guard agency says.

Moldova Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said on the American channel Cable News Network (CNN) that one in every eight children in her country is a refugee.

Young children may not understand that their lives have been changed. But, older ones know of their hardship. Those children risk suffering emotional trauma⁴ from the war and from their escape, experts say.

Margot is a one-year-old girl who traveled from Kyiv to the Siret border crossing in Romania. For her, the journey was like a "little adventure," said her mother, Viktoria Filonchuk. But for other older children, she suspects they understand what they are going through.

"Such little kids maybe don't understand this, but kids of about 3 or 4 years understand all the tragedy. I think it is very hard for them," Filonchuk said.

Daniel Gradinaru is a coordinator⁵ of Fight for Freedom, a Christian⁶ nongovernmental organization at the Romanian border. He said that older children could be "marked for the rest of their lives" by the experience of unexpectedly leaving their homes and traveling for days in the cold.

Nine-year-old Valeria Varenko traveled to Hungary with her mother Julia and her little brother. Bombings had forced them to shelter in the underground area of their apartment building in the Kyiv.

The family reached a temporary refugee reception center in Barabas, Hungary. Valeria said she wanted to tell children left behind in Ukraine to be careful, and not to touch any objects in the street. "They could be bombs which can hurt them very much," Valeria said.

Her father stayed behind to help defend Kyiv from Russian troops nearing to the city. "I would really like him to come, but unfortunately he isn't allowed," she said of her father.

Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are currently⁷ not permitted to leave the country. That policy is aimed at keeping men available to fight against Russian forces.

Annamaria's hometown of

, Ukraine's second-largest city, has seen heavy bombardment by Russian forces. Neighborhoods in the city near the Russian border were shelled for several days before a missile strike hit a government building in the city's central Freedom Square last week. At least six people were killed in that attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack "undisguised terror."

Although she is only 10, Annamaria already knows she wants to be an actress in the United States. She is proud that she can speak English at a high level.

"I want to be an actress in USA and English is a very popular language," she said. "A big percent of people in the world know it and it's very easy to speak it in other countries."

Annamaria and her mother, Viktoria, planned to travel on to Hungary's capital, Budapest. But they do know where they would go after that. Annamaria said she hoped to visit Disneyland in France.

Once the war ends, she said, she wants to go back to Kharkiv and reconnect with her friends.

"If war stops, I really want to go home because there are my friends, there are beautiful parks, supermarkets, centers, and playgrounds behind my house," she said. "Kharkiv, it's like a piece of your heart."

Words in This Story

hardship –n. something that causes pain, suffering, or loss

trauma –n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

journey –n. an act of traveling from one place to another; a trip

tragedy –n. a very sad, unfortunate, or upsetting situation; something that causes strong feelings of sadness or regret; a tragic⁸ event

reception –adj. related to receiving or welcoming people to a place that they do not know a lot about

allow –v. to permit; to let something happen

undisguised –adj. not hidden or secret

1 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

2 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。