A bomb hit my parents’ house
Almost 80% of buildings in Irpin were destroyed: all schools, the hospital, clinics, civilian infrastructure. The city does not exist anymore. My parents’ house was hit by a bomb. The high rise where my relatives lived was hit as well. The yard of a friend’s house was hit three times. My home is destroyed as well. My elderly neighbors who lived on the second floor were shot, and the Russians looted my apartment.
One of my relatives died fighting in the territorial defense forces, and a few other people I knew were killed as well. By the way, my daughter-in-law also served in the territorial defense forces, and she even earned a medal.
Instead of a postscript: February 2023
I returned to Ukraine last September, but I had nowhere to live, so I moved my things to my friend’s shed, and went back to Budapest after a month. It was a difficult month. I walked a lot through the destroyed city and even recorded a little video. I watch it sometimes to have a good cry…
Many of my friends and relatives find themselves in the same situations. The house of Irina Anasenkova (a member of our community) was bombed, and the Russians came to her mother’s place (she lives in neighboring Bucha), defecated all over, and stole her things.
At the same time, many people who evacuated came back. Overall, the community lost approximately 15% of its population, but these numbers do not tell the whole story: people come and go, especially as Irpin often experiences power outages. Those who have a place to wait out the war are not returning yet. I live off my daughter. My pension in Ukraine is 2200 UAH (~60 USD) per month, and I cannot find a job here because of my age. My daughter hosts some other people from Irpin, so there are seven of us in total.
I try to help the community as much as I can. I coordinate volunteers who distribute food and clothing. I also go to Irpin for short amounts of time. The Jewish community continues to operate. We have two chairs: myself and Iryna Kayhorodova. She went to Israel, but came back. We get up to 30 people on major holidays. Of course, it is difficult because of the power outages. One time we came, and then the lights went out. Our community center is on the ground floor. We lit candles, but there were no windows, and it was hard to breathe. Our members are elderly, so we said a prayer, had kiddush, and went home. But we get support from larger communities, like Zhytomyr and Dnipro.
It is a little scary to come back now, although I get daily calls from my friends. They have gotten used to the sirens, and just walk the streets, not paying attention to the air raids. But you don’t know where and when a bomb will fall. I shudder when I think about my September trip. Now when I come, I try not to walk the street: just have our holiday celebration and come back.