Iryna (10) sovner til skudd hver natt

Februar 2015: Ved midnatt begynte bombene å falle nær huset til Iryna, like ved frontlinjen øst i Ukraina. Faren løp ut, og i samme øyeblikk smalt det i hagen – bare få meter fra der han stod på trammen.

Smellet knuste alle vinduene i huset. Fire år senere sliter Iryna og søsknene hennes med posttraumatisk stress. De er engstelige og våkner ofte av mareritt om natten.

Iryna is 10 years old, and Liliia’s eldest daughter. She still remembers the night their house was hit. Iryna and her sibling all suffer from post-traumatic stress. It is hard to concentrate at school and she has nightmares and anxiety. “The main concern for me now is that the active phase of the war does not break out again. I am afraid that my house will be destroyed again. After all, we hear the sounds of shots every night,”says her mother Liliia. Iryna helps her sister Yana, 7, with her hair.

Background story:
Liliia Poturoieva is 39. She has experienced terrible events that completely changed the life of herself and her large family and left an indelible mark on everyone's soul. She lives in the frontline village of Verkhnia Vilkhova in Stanytsia Luhanska district, Luhansk region.

Liliia has six children. The oldest is Oleksandr. He is 20. He lives separately from his parents and earns his own living. Ihor is 12. He is a shy and calm schoolboy, always ready to help parents with the housework. Her eldest daughter Iryna is 10. She is a schoolgirl and mother's main housekeeper. She cooks and looks after younger children. Yana is 7. She is a first-grade pupil. She is a cheerful, active and very energetic girl. The children are forced to go to school in a neighboring village 5 kilometers away, since there is simply no school in their village.

Her youngest son Illia,5, and daughter Aryna, 2, are always staying at home with their mother. The family cannot afford a kindergarten for children. Now Liliia is pregnant again. This will be the seventh child in the family. Her husband Viktor helps her to cope with all of them.

Before the conflict, the whole big family lived in a small house with two rooms. There was no work. The main income was child allowances and random earnings from the cows, goats, rabbits and poultry.

“There was no work in the village. There was no opportunity to travel to other settlements to work. We tried to make money by selling milk”.

In February 2015, at midnight, heavy shelling began. Viktor, Liliia's husband, went out into the yard to see the direction of the shots. Suddenly a shell fell near their yard, and the second shell landed 7 meters away from Viktor, who was standing on the house porch. Viktor got a serious shell shock and lost his hearing for a while.
The blast wave knocked out all the windows in the house. Under one of the windows there was a child's bed, where Liliia’s youngest son slept. That night Liliia saved the life of her son with her son.

“When the blast hit, I covered my baby with my own body, and the glass from the broken window hit me in the back”.

The consequences of that shelling are still noticeable. Liliia has problems with her speech. She is stuttering. She is not the only one.

“The children experience anxiety, concentration problems, fears and, as a result, urinary incontinence”.

The house was seriously damaged in the blast. All the windows were broken, the front walls were destroyed and the roof and the foundation were seriously damaged. However, Liliia and her family did not dare to leave because it was too risky to leave the house unattended. They tried to repair the house on their own. They covered the broken windows with plastic wrap. They even had to spend their nights in the basement because it was the warmest and the safest place in their household.There was no help from the local authorities.

“At first I didn’t want to ask for help. I did not believe that anyone would really help us. My husband advised me to go to the NRC office and find out about the Heavy repair project, because he heard that NRC had already helped someone in the village”.

Now the house is in the process of restoration. There is a new slate on the roof. Renovation works on the walls have been completed. Three small rooms for the children have been completed. New windows have been installed and internal works are being carried out now.

“The main thing for me now is that the active phase of the war does not break out again. I am afraid that my house will be destroyed again. After all, we hear the sounds of shots every night”, Liliia says.

Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/Norwegian Refugee Council — Iryna hjelper lillesøsteren Yana (7) med håret. Begge jentene våkner ofte av mareritt om natten. Foto: Ingebjørg Kårstad/ Flyktninghjelpen

Redd for at huset skal bli truffet igjen

Irynas mor, Liliia Poturoieva, smiler med et behersket uttrykk som avslører lite om grufullhetene hun og familien hennes har gjennomlevd siden krigen brøt ut. Landsbyen deres ligger i Luhansk-regionen øst i Ukraina.

Det har gått fire år siden huset ble bombet

– Vi hører fremdeles lyden av skudd hver natt. Jeg er redd for at huset skal bli truffet igjen, sier hun.

Den væpnede konflikten i Ukraina har vart i fem år. Så langt har den tatt over 3.000 sivile liv og drevet 1,5 millioner mennesker på flukt. 3,5 millioner ukrainere har behov for humanitær hjelp.

Bomber, voldelige sammenstøt og landminer har blitt en del av en brutal hverdag for innbyggerne øst i landet. Til tross for det høye antallet rammede ukrainere, blir krisen i stor grad neglisjert av verdenssamfunnet. Finansieringen til det humanitære arbeidet er knapp, og partene i konflikten respekterer ikke våpenhvileavtalen.

Les også: Fem ting du må vite etter fem år med konflikt i Ukraina

Liliia Poturoieva is 39. She has experienced terrible events that completely changed the life of herself and her large family and left an indelible mark on everyone's soul. She lives in the frontline village of Verkhnia Vilkhova in Stanytsia Luhanska district, Luhansk region.

Liliia has six children. The oldest is Oleksandr. He is 20. He lives separately from his parents and earns his own living. Ihor is 12. He is a shy and calm schoolboy, always ready to help parents with the housework. Her eldest daughter Iryna is 10. She is a schoolgirl and mother's main housekeeper. She cooks and looks after younger children. Yana is 7. She is a first-grade pupil. She is a cheerful, active and very energetic girl. The children are forced to go to school in a neighboring village 5 kilometers away, since there is simply no school in their village.

Her youngest son Illia,5, and daughter Aryna, 2, are always staying at home with their mother. The family cannot afford a kindergarten for children. Now Liliia is pregnant again. This will be the seventh child in the family. Her husband Viktor helps her to cope with all of them.

Before the conflict, the whole big family lived in a small house with two rooms. There was no work. The main income was child allowances and random earnings from the cows, goats, rabbits and poultry.

“There was no work in the village. There was no opportunity to travel to other settlements to work. We tried to make money by selling milk”.

In February 2015, at midnight, heavy shelling began. Viktor, Liliia's husband, went out into the yard to see the direction of the shots. Suddenly a shell fell near their yard, and the second shell landed 7 meters away from Viktor, who was standing on the house porch. Viktor got a serious shell shock and lost his hearing for a while.
The blast wave knocked out all the windows in the house. Under one of the windows there was a child's bed, where Liliia’s youngest son slept. That night Liliia saved the life of her son with her son.

“When the blast hit, I covered my baby with my own body, and the glass from the broken window hit me in the back”.

The consequences of that shelling are still noticeable. Liliia has problems with her speech. She is stuttering. She is not the only one.

“The children experience anxiety, concentration problems, fears and, as a result, urinary incontinence”.

The house was seriously damaged in the blast. All the windows were broken, the front walls were destroyed and the roof and the foundation were seriously damaged. However, Liliia and her family did not dare to leave because it was too risky to leave the house unattended. They tried to repair the house on their own. They covered the broken windows with plastic wrap. They even had to spend their nights in the basement because it was the warmest and the safest place in their household.There was no help from the local authorities.

“At first I didn’t want to ask for help. I did not believe that anyone would really help us. My husband advised me to go to the NRC office and find out about the Heavy repair project, because he heard that NRC had already helped someone in the village”.

Now the house is in the process of restoration. There is a new slate on the roof. Renovation works on the walls have been completed. Three small rooms for the children have been completed. New windows have been installed and internal works are being carried out now.

“The main thing for me now is that the active phase of the war does not break out again. I am afraid that my house will be destroyed again. After all, we hear the sounds of shots every night”, Liliia says.

Short version: Liliia Poturoieva, 39, mother of six, soon seven children lives close to the contact line in eastern Ukraine. At midnight, February 2015, another round of heavy shelling began and hit Liliia’s house. That night she saved the life of her youngest son. “The blast wave knocked out all the windows in the house, but I covered my baby who slept in his bed right under the window with my own body and the glass pieces hit me in the back”. After that night Liliia began having problems with her speech. The stuttering is a daily reminder of the war.

Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/Norwegian Refugee Council — – Jeg er redd for at huset skal bli truffet igjen, sier Irynas mor, Liliia Poturoieva. Hun smiler med et behersket uttrykk som avslører lite om grufullhetene hun og familien hennes har gjennomlevd siden krigen brøt ut. Her med sin yngste datter, Aryna, på armen. Foto: Ingebjørg Kårstad/ Flyktninghjelpen

Sivilbefolkningen betaler prisen

Det er sivilbefolkningen som rammes hardest av konflikten. Liliia har seks barn. Den eldste, Oleksandr, er 20 år og bor ikke hos foreldrene lenger. Ihor på tolv år er en sjenert, rolig og hjelpsom skolegutt. Den eldste datteren, tiåringen Iryna, går på skolen og hjelper moren med husarbeidet. Hun lager mat og passer på sine yngre søsken. Yana er sju år og en glad jente som går i første klasse. De to yngste, Illia på fem år og Aryna på to år, er hjemme med moren. Familien har ikke råd til å sende dem i barnehagen. Liliia og ektemannen Viktor venter nå sitt syvende barn.

Da bomben traff, dekket jeg barnet med min egen kropp og glasset fra vinduet traff meg i ryggen.

Liliia Poturoieva

Før konflikten bodde hele familien i et lite hus med to rom. Det var ikke lett å skaffe jobb, og hovedinntekten deres kom fra barnebidrag og det lille de tjente på dyrehold – de har noen få kyr, geiter, kaniner og høns.

– Det fantes ikke arbeid i landsbyen, forteller Liliia. – Og vi kunne ikke reise noe annet sted. Vi tjente litt penger på å selge melk.

Barna må til nabolandsbyen fem kilometer unna for å gå på skole. I fire år, helt siden bombeangrepet, har de hatt vansker med å konsentrere seg i klasserommet.

Reddet sønnens liv

Den forferdelige natten kunne hatt et mye verre utfall. Under et av vinduene lå Liliias yngste sønn, Illia, og sov.

– Da bomben traff, dekket jeg barnet med min egen kropp og glasset fra vinduet traff meg i ryggen. Liliia stammer frem fortellingen om hendelsene den natten. Det er tydelig at de fremdeles preger henne.

Smellet etterlot store skader på huset: Alle vinduene ble knust, og ytterveggene, taket og grunnmuren ble ødelagt. Men Liliia og familien hennes våget ikke reise. De forsøkte å reparere det selv, dekket over vinduene med plast. De tilbragte nettene i kjelleren, det varmeste og tryggeste stedet i huset. De fikk ingen hjelp fra lokale myndigheter.

Illia, 5, is watching cartoons on TV while his baby sister Aryna, 2, is having her afternoon nap on the sofa. In the small kitchen their father Viktor is having a small rest from his work outside.

Background story:
Liliia Poturoieva is 39. She has experienced terrible events that completely changed the life of herself and her large family and left an indelible mark on everyone's soul. She lives in the frontline village of Verkhnia Vilkhova in Stanytsia Luhanska district, Luhansk region.

Liliia has six children. The oldest is Oleksandr. He is 20. He lives separately from his parents and earns his own living. Ihor is 12. He is a shy and calm schoolboy, always ready to help parents with the housework. Her eldest daughter Iryna is 10. She is a schoolgirl and mother's main housekeeper. She cooks and looks after younger children. Yana is 7. She is a first-grade pupil. She is a cheerful, active and very energetic girl. The children are forced to go to school in a neighboring village 5 kilometers away, since there is simply no school in their village.

Her youngest son Illia,5, and daughter Aryna, 2, are always staying at home with their mother. The family cannot afford a kindergarten for children. Now Liliia is pregnant again. This will be the seventh child in the family. Her husband Viktor helps her to cope with all of them.

Before the conflict, the whole big family lived in a small house with two rooms. There was no work. The main income was child allowances and random earnings from the cows, goats, rabbits and poultry.

“There was no work in the village. There was no opportunity to travel to other settlements to work. We tried to make money by selling milk”.

In February 2015, at midnight, heavy shelling began. Viktor, Liliia's husband, went out into the yard to see the direction of the shots. Suddenly a shell fell near their yard, and the second shell landed 7 meters away from Viktor, who was standing on the house porch. Viktor got a serious shell shock and lost his hearing for a while.
The blast wave knocked out all the windows in the house. Under one of the windows there was a child's bed, where Liliia’s youngest son slept. That night Liliia saved the life of her son with her son.

“When the blast hit, I covered my baby with my own body, and the glass from the broken window hit me in the back”.

The consequences of that shelling are still noticeable. Liliia has problems with her speech. She is stuttering. She is not the only one.

“The children experience anxiety, concentration problems, fears and, as a result, urinary incontinence”.

The house was seriously damaged in the blast. All the windows were broken, the front walls were destroyed and the roof and the foundation were seriously damaged. However, Liliia and her family did not dare to leave because it was too risky to leave the house unattended. They tried to repair the house on their own. They covered the broken windows with plastic wrap. They even had to spend their nights in the basement because it was the warmest and the safest place in their household.There was no help from the local authorities.

“At first I didn’t want to ask for help. I did not believe that anyone would really help us. My husband advised me to go to the NRC office and find out about the Heavy repair project, because he heard that NRC had already helped someone in the village”.

Now the house is in the process of restoration. There is a new slate on the roof. Renovation works on the walls have been completed. Three small rooms for the children have been completed. New windows have been installed and internal works are being carried out now.

“The main thing for me now is that the active phase of the war does not break out again. I am afraid that my house will be destroyed again. After all, we hear the sounds of shots every night”, Liliia says.

Photo: Ingebjørg Kårstad/Norwegian Refugee Council — Illia (5) ser på tegnefilm mens lillesøsteren Aryna (2) sover på sofaen. Inne på kjøkkenet hviler faren deres Viktor etter dagens arbeidsøkt. Foto: Ingebjørg Kårstad/ Flyktninghjelpen

Flyktninghjelpen reparerer huset

– Først ville jeg ikke be om hjelp. Jeg trodde ikke noen kunne eller ville hjelpe oss, sier Liliia. – Men mannen min hørte om Flyktninghjelpens prosjekter og at de reparerte hus i landsbyen, så jeg dro for å finne ut mer om det.

Det er hun glad for i dag, for huset er i gang med å bli fullstendig renovert. De har fått lagt ny takstein og reparert veggene, satt inn nye vinduer og laget flere soverom til barna.

Flyktninghjelpen bidro med bygningsmaterialer og pengestøtte til reparasjon av fire hus i landsbyen til Liliia.

– Det viktigste for oss nå, er at den aktive delen av krigen ikke blusser opp igjen, sier Liliia. Hun lengter etter fredelige tider i familien nyrenoverte hjem.