Telli (28)

Monday, March 21, 2022, Bratislava. Day 25 of the war.

Her father told her to leave before the soldiers came. He knew a lot of bad things could happen to a young girl at the times of war. Telli was not born in Ukraine, but she was raised there and she calls Ukraine her home. She is resident of Ukraine, with Ukrainian passport. This is the third time she had to leave her country. She has left Azerbaijan twice, now she had to run away from Ukraine. She doesn’t want to run away anymore. She’s too tired to do so.

“I was born in Azerbaijan in 1994 and I have moved to Ukraine with all my family in 2002. I studied there, it’s been a great time. Ukrainians are one of the kindest people I have ever met. I have never felt any sort of discrimination no one has ever said anything bad about my religion, colour of my skin or my nationality. I studied at the State Medical Academy in Dnepropetrovsk from 2012, and I graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry in 2017. I got married shortly after and moved back to Azerbaijan. But I am mentally Ukrainian. I moved back to Ukraine and I have been living and working there for the last few years.”

“I was celebrating my birthday with my friends before the war started. I would have never thought that something like that might have happened. I had everything. I had a perfect job, a flat, everything a young woman needs. I was really happy. I have been planning my summer vacation, it was the biggest “problem” for me back then. When I woke up on February 24, it’s been very scary. I called my dad. I was in a state of shock. I couldn’t understand that there was a war. I am still not able to describe how I felt. I have packed my things and moved to my parent’s house from Dnipro. I’ve been there for a week when my dad told me it was not safe for me to stay there anymore. We have had two wars already in my country of birth, so my dad knew what might happen to a young woman when the soldiers come. We knew about the sexual abuse happening during the conflict in Azerbaijan and my dad was worried about me and that is why he sent me away. He told me: “You have to go! Don’t stay here, we will be ok.””

“All my family - my mother, dad, brother - is in Ukraine, they lived in Kryvyi Rih, but they had to move closer to the West as it was not safe to stay there. I wanted to go to Budapest first and fly to Bakchu as I have friends and relatives living there. Then I met Sonya, a volunteer, who advised me to stay in Slovakia as I speak 5 different languages - Ukrainian, Russian, English, Turkish and Azerbaijan. She told me Slovakia needs doctors. At this place, where I am living now people can stay for a maximum of 5 nights. But they are letting me stay a bit longer because I am helping them out with translations, communication, and I am volunteering to do different work. I have made many friends here. I love Slovakia, Slovakians are close to Ukrainians in terms of their mentality. I am looking for a job now. I have to start from zero, I have lost everything. I was crying yesterday because it is so hard. I had everything, I had worked hard to succeed in my profession, and I have lost it all in just a single day. But my story is not the worst one. There are people coming here with children, they don’t know the language, they don’t have any money, they have nothing. Sometimes I am volunteering at the Main train station, I am trying to help out as much as I can.”

“Actually this is the third time I am running away from my country because of the war. Back in 1988 there was the first conflict in Karabakh, and the situation in my country was very bad back then. And so my parents decided to move to Ukraine so I could study. I moved back to Azerbaijan when I got married. Then I ran away to Ukraine the second time. Now I am running away again. I am staying here for now and I think I will stay here for a bit. I am tired of moving. How many times do I have to move? I have left Ukraine on March 5. Everyone believed the war wouldn’t last long. But then my dad decided for me and I had to leave. I am hoping the war will end soon and then I will go back to my parents.”

“We are in everyday contact. They are ok for now, but they are not doing well mentally. It’s hard to leave everything behind. We have lived in Ukraine for 20 years. My parents were working hard so we could study, so they could buy a house, a car. We just wanted to live a normal life. They are not young anymore. My dad has health problems. He is 55 so he cannot leave Ukraine. My brother is a doctor too and he is 26, so he had to stay as well. He is not going to fight, but they (the Russians) don’t care whether you are a doctor, soldier, or a civilian. They are killing everyone. It is so scary. Everything I can do now is to pray. This is the first time in my life when I cannot ask my parents for help. I cannot do that because they cannot help me. I am alone in a foreign country.”

“It’s so hard that sometimes I cannot sleep, I cannot eat. I am trying not to follow the news as it is too stressful. I am not blaming regular Russian people. My younger sister (22) is married and living in Russia. Her and her husband are unable to do anything because of the system. They can try and protest, but they would be beaten, they would end up in a prison. I told them they have to move away. I just hope that everybody will survive and be safe. All my family, my friends. All I want for them is to be safe. I studied for 7 years to become a dentist, that is all I know. I don’t want to loose what I have. I have managed to bring all the necessary paperwork, I have my diploma here with me. I had those ready, just in case. I will find a job and I will be ok, I just worry about my parents, my friends, about my country - Ukraine.”