'My parents left everything they had in Ukraine'

Parents of Nadiia Özcan heading to the airport in Warsawby traine (left).

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"Summer 2021. My beautiful, heroic city of Kharkov in the background. The beautiful central street is burned by bombed and half walls..." writes Nadiia Özcan under a photograph she shares on social media. She has been living in Antalya, southern Turkey, for 15 years.

After the war broke out, Özcan struggled for a long time to bring his parents, Olena and Oleksandr, who were living in their hometown of Kharkov, to Turkey. Her parents are in their 60s. "It was a very difficult time, but I was reunited with my parents," says Nadiia.

Six days on the road

Olena and Oleksandr managed to get out of the with their own car in eight hours. Then a six-day journey to Poland started.

Nadiia Özcan describes what she and her family lived through:

"I spoke with the consulate of Turkey many times for my parents, but we couldn't establish a healthy connection because of the problems with lines. In the evening, when the attacks were the most intense, they could not stand it any longer and set out in their own car because they were afraid.

"From Kharkov, Ukraine, they set out for Poland. Later we reached the consulate, but it was too late, they were on their way and it was even more dangerous to go back.

"They managed to get out of the city in eight hours. In four days, they reached the border from Kharkov. There were food and drink aids. They waited in long queues between cities. And they reached Poland two days later. My sister has been living in Poland for some time; they went to her.

"When they were waiting in towns, they stayed in kindergartens; but they mostly slept in the car."

"They only have a steering wheel left"

"In Poland, seams are about to burst," Nadiia says, noting that two million refugees from Ukraine have gone to the country. For this reason, she says, her family came to Turkey after staying in Poland for two days.

"Only a steering wheel left from what my mother and father earned throughout their lives. They left the car to my sister; at least it is in a safe place. My father wouldn't give up on his car. We don't know what will happen to the house. We don't know what will happen tomorrow.

"Too many people migrated to Poland. For this reason, my family came from Warsaw to Antalya by plane. Now we are working to complete the paperwork for their residence to avoid problems later on."

Nadiia Özcan was reunited with her parents at Antalya Airport.

"We are relative countries"

"We didn't think the war would come to this point," says Nadiia Özcan and talks about the peoples of Ukraine and Russia:

"We are relative families. Both Ukraine and Russia are intertwined, we are mixed. For example, my father is Russian; he was born in Russia and later came to Ukraine. My mother is from Ukraine. We have the same blood. If a DNA test was performed, the results would be the same.

"We were extremely shocked by this attack. Not the sound of the bombs, but the fact that there is an attack shocked us. Russian state channels made fake news. Yesterday, there was the outcry of a producer at the state channel yesterday. 'I'm so ashamed, there has been so much propaganda since 2014. We reported the news wrong because of pressures. I'm ashamed of this propaganda now', he said."

"Children go to same schools"

Nadiia Özcan has two children aged 6 and 8. She warns families, pointing out what happened between children:

"Anger never brings results. Think yourselves in the place of your children. There were rumors about a child being beaten at school. I don't know if they were Ukrainian or Russian.

"There is the PArk of Matryoshka in Konyaaltı. Some people painted the statues there red. We don't know whether who did this was Russian or Ukrainian. Unfortunately, there is conflict between us, conflict of ideas.

"Since the first days, I've been saying that we have nothing to do with this war. It's just politics.

"After the war began, I talked to teachers, the counselor in my children's school, and explained the situation to them. There are such reactions. Because we don't know what is being talked about in children's homes. I informed the teachers. I explained to my children that there are troubles between Russia and Ukraine, but this is not our war.

"When talking between families, it should always be said that the war is not between the peoples. They should do this not for themselves but for their children.

"Animosity is being created, this is terrible. This is learned in childhood. They go to the same school, sit at the same table with their friends, and grow up in the same parks. They should not be hostile towards each other."

"Fifteen people rented a two-room flat"

Nadiia Özcan, who works in the real estate sector, says many people have come to Antalya from Ukraine.

""Hotels and aparthotels are constantly booked. The prices are unfortunately too high. There was a group with mothers and children; almost 15 people rented a two-room flat.

"Those who gave birth, those who are pregnant... They have almost nothing. They came with whatever they had on them. They need clothing, personal care, and strollers." (AÖ/VK)