Ukraine Under Siege: Experience You’d Better Not Share
On that radiant Saturday in July last year, my mom and I were at a small restaurant in Warsaw. He walked up to our table, said hello, and asked if we were enjoying everything. I thanked him and asked if he remembered me. Yes, he did. I used to visit often in the summer of 2022 with my sister. It had been a year since then, and I was about to head back to Kyiv in a few hours. ‘Why?’ he asked. I told him I didn’t want to miss the victory celebration. He then told me he felt the same for six long years in Syria. We were quiet for a moment, looking at each other, when my mom started to cry, and I got goosebumps. He shook my hand, mentioned he had a brother in Berlin, and said it was a great city with good food and lots of refugees. He suggested I should visit. Not right now. We said goodbye with a hug, and I asked for his name. Samir. He used to own an antique shop in Damascus and now ran a vegan restaurant with the best falafel I had ever tasted. There was even a documentary made about him. I promised to come back to Warsaw again soon.
I kept my promise, and now it’s been five months since I moved here. I often see Samir, and he never fails to bring a smile to my face. We’ve stopped discussing the war, yet our shared experiences help me feel less isolated in this city. Warsaw has grown on me. My mother and sister are here, and I’ve made a few close friends. My therapist is pleased with my decision to relocate to Poland. I feel more at ease, confident, and relaxed now. It’s true, but there are still nights when I lie awake, missing Ukraine deeply, and find myself talking to ChatGPT about it.
2023 was a hard year for me, but it taught me a lot about myself, what I need, and what I can do. Facing tough times in Kyiv during the war with others from my community made me feel strong and like I belonged. But, I almost lost my job because it was hard to focus on work after nights with no sleep due to air raid sirens and bombings. I only wrote one article on Medium last year, and it wasn’t even about Vue or programming. Surprisingly, it got a lot of attention, and I was asked to speak at Medium Day in August. My talk was about war-life balance, and you can watch it on YouTube.
Ever since the russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, I’ve been trying to mix my knowledge about Vue with what I’ve learned from the war in Ukraine. However, at some point, I found I couldn’t continue like this. I’m still passionate about Vue and want to keep growing as a software engineer. But I realised that I couldn’t stay quiet about the war anymore and needed to shift my focus in writing. Sharing these difficult experiences might be hard for my readers, who are used to coming to my blog for technical insights. But I think it’s necessary to talk about it. The Ukrainian people are fighting for freedom and safety, not just for our country, but for all of Europe.
In the last year, Russians have targeted Kyiv with over 300 various types of cruise missiles, 14 ballistic missiles, and nearly 400 ‘Shahed’ type attack UAVs. In 2023, Kyiv had 302 air raid alerts, with the total time of these alerts adding up to 16 days. You can find all these statistics on a website called Alerts Wrapped, which starkly highlights our new reality. My friends, family, and colleagues face this every day. Those working for international companies often have to keep quiet about these attacks to keep their jobs. They are feeling downhearted, worn out, and uncertain about what the future holds.
It seems like the war won’t end soon. On January 2, 2024, Ukraine faced another widespread attack. We urgently need more weapons to defend our skies and fight on the ground. My friends and I are continuously raising funds for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, knowing this is a marathon, not a sprint. Today, I’m reaching out for your support. Please follow Ukrainian news on social media, share these stories with your followers using #russiaisaterroriststate, and urge your governments to assist Ukraine. United we stand, divided we fall.
