Postmarked: Hope 

Hello, my new friend. My name is Anna. Today I want to tell you about how sometimes life, plans, and dreams can turn into memories in just a moment. For my family, that moment came on February 24, 2022, at 4.50am. With the first explosion in Odesa, my life was divided into before and after. Fear, horror, panic outside the window and in city chats… And behind the wall, my children were sleeping soundly. I have four of them: three sons and a daughter who wasn’t even five at the time.

Me with my children - from left, my oldest, Oleg (18), my youngest, Olena (8), and my two middle boys, Bodgan (12) and Artem (10).

A day later, I quickly decided that I needed to get the family to safety, that I couldn’t handle it. Then it was like a dream: the essentials in my backpacks, documents, a full tank and the journey to safety.

Ahead of us lay a long journey into the unknown, an endless 36 hours and just 60km to the nearest customs point with Moldova. Back then, we didn’t yet understand that this was the road to a completely new life.

It’s been four years now, and it still feels like yesterday. Now I know that my children are my strongest motivation. It’s only thanks to them that I made it through.

So much has been experienced: adapting, finding housing and a source of income, learning a new way of life, and the endless wait for the war to end tomorrow.

Today we have our own home – not big, not very cozy, on the outskirts of the city, but ours. Our life in rented apartments is over.

My eldest son graduated from school and is now studying for a vocation. I hope he’s found his calling. Unfortunately, he lost touch with his first love; the war sent them too far apart. But he found new friends, became actively involved in social life, and learned to be a responsible adult a little earlier than he would have liked.

He’ll be 19 this summer, but we haven’t yet overcome all the difficulties. There are some paperwork issues, as he’s of conscription age in a place where life has become a business. I believe we can overcome this too.

My kids' first spring in Moldova.

The middle boys are 12 and 10 years old. They enjoy going to school, attending clubs, and playing with friends in the evenings. They often think about home, their beloved cat, and the grandmother they miss… But they have a normal childhood and that’s very valuable to me.

My daughter recently turned eight. She’s in first grade. Everything in her life is wonderful, because she was so little she barely remembered anything about sirens and explosions.

I’ve gone through a difficult journey, changed my career, and in November I registered a public organisation and help people in difficult situations. I had to learn a lot of new things, work hard, and develop myself first and foremost. Now I cherish every day, trying to find joy even in the most difficult moments. And I still wait and believe that tomorrow the war will end.

We traded big, warm Odesa for a small provincial town on the left bank of the Dniester. It’s now our new home, but that’s a completely different story.

Let Anna know she’s not alone

REPLY TO ANNA'S LETTER