Help Ukrainian Family: Chabuk

Part 1: Fleeing Kyiv

On Feb. 25, 2022, I learned my friend Ali, his wife, his sister-in-law (in medical school) and his three daughters (ages 10, 9 and 2) had to flee from the Russians for the second time.

A standard drive from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to Lviv (a relatively safer place in western Ukraine) is about 5-6 hours. Still, because of the heavy traffic and the millions of people fleeing, the drive took about 18 hours. They drove through side towns and forests, chased by the threat of exploding missiles and the sounds of sirens and bomb alerts; the family of six did not dare to stop. Finally, they had to get to the city of Lviv, the closest escape route to Poland.

Ali tells me he decided to leave during the second day of the war when the Ukrainian defense system took down a Russian cruise missile only a few hundred meters from their apartment building. The wreckage fell on a house nearby and burst into flames, witnessed by Ali and his family.

I was able to message Ali in Kyiv and then briefly in Lviv, but all communication stopped. I didn’t know if they made it past the border in time because then Ukraine asked males from 18 to 60 to stay and fight.

Finally, a few days later, on March 3, 2022, I was relieved to hear the family had crossed the Ukraine-Poland border and are now in Warsaw. They received some relief, but, at this time, Ukrainians do not have “refugee status,” which means there is little government aid or European aid (about $70 per month per person).

Please donate and share this personal story of a real family if you want to do more. I assure you that this war is not imaginary, and real lives are in danger.

If you can donate any amount, $5, $10, $20 or $50, it will help with items that the EU has not provided yet as the Ukrainians are still not protected under refugee status. Your donation would help with rent and everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, formula and diapers.

If you’re unable to donate, please share and humanize this story. This war is real.