War in Ukraine: a year that lasted forever

365 days of war in the words and experience of Mira Milavec, a Slovenian Focolarina who has been living in Ukraine for some years and where she works for Caritas Spes.

“It has been one year of war, but it seems like an eternity. I never imagined I’d experience such a situation firsthand.”
This is how our conversation with Mira Milavec, a Slovenian focolarina who has been living in Ukraine since 2019, began. Mira has been working tirelessly at the frontline during this year of conflict, working with Caritas Spes Ukraine to support the people. Caritas has been supported by the Emergency Coordination Committee of the Focolare Movement through the NGO’s Action for a United World (AMU) and Action for New Families (AFN).

Mira told us, “I see a lot of fatigue around me. There are some places in particular where people are still living in very precarious situations. After a year, people’s needs have changed. Before with Caritas Spes we dealt with the distribution of basic necessities, now we have moved on to a new phase in which it is very important to restore dignity to people and also provide socio-psychological support. We are still at the beginning in this area but we are trying to understand how to do it”.

Mira, the Caritas operation never stopped…
That’s true. I am in contact with our collaborators who are in the most affected places. I think they have never had time to rest but they are there, day and night, personally sharing the sufferings of these people who have lost everything, their loved ones, their houses; their whole life is shattered. I think being in direct contact with these stories, gives our collaborators, no matter how tired they are, the push to continue doing good”.

Is there any particular story you carry with you?
“Yes, the stories are different, and that’s where hope comes from. I remember a family from Donbass who had to leave their city already in 2014. They had saved all their lives to be able to have an apartment and as soon as they could, they bought one in Kharkiv. Then the war came and they had to leave. They went back to that apartment at the end of 2022 and found it in really disastrous conditions because of the bombing. We brought them wood stoves to keep warm and, despite this tragic situation, it was moving to see immense gratitude in their eyes. It didn’t matter how much it was going to cost to repair the damage to the house. They were happy and grateful to receive that little help, to be alive and still together. ”

What have you experienced in this difficult year?
“I have seen how in these situations we are all able to do something to help. Above all I feel God’s support and really feel that we are in His hands. Often people here don’t ask for much, it’s enough just to ‘be’, to be there with them. God gives us all different talents and I have to say that in the situation I’m in now, I can really draw on them and they can really help others. Prayer is a real support. I truly hope that this war will end and that each one in our own small way will be able to teach the new generations that such hatred cannot be allowed to exist.”

by Maria Grazia Berretta

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