Miralem Edinson from Moscow and Olha Sheiko from Kyivwill remember their first wedding days after the start of the war. Soon after they packed the most valuable things and left. The road brought them several thousand kilometers away, to Bihac, where they are currently temporarily staying.
He is Russian and she is Ukrainian. They met a year before the war, a few days before the war they got married, and the first days together and her move to Moscow were marked by the beginning of the aggression.
Olha, Kyiv
“I saw I had a call from my mom and brother early in the morning. When I managed to get my brother back, he said they were awakened by the sound of grenades.”
They didn’t think much before they decided to leave. His relatives tried to dissuade them from leaving.
Olha, Kyiv
“I showed them photos and videos that my mom sent me and where the explosions are heard and seen, and they said it was fake,”
Miralem, Moscow
“It’s actually that Russian propaganda, that’s what they’re guided by, that it’s all a lie. At that moment, I regretted leaving the keys to my house to those relatives.”
Olha’s family in Ukraine had already started packing and fleeing. Soon the two of them left Moscow. The road by car through many countries to Bosnia was extremely difficult, they explained, especially because it is a car with Russian license plates. To keep them safe, they said, they pasted the flag of Ukraine on each side of the car.
Miralem, Moscow
“On the way to Sarajevo, we stopped in Jajce. People were confused in the sense – A Russian came and Ukrainian flags were pasted on his car. An elderly lady, the owner of the cafe where we sat, came up to us and hugged my wife tightly.”
The warmth and love they felt here, they say, does not existanywhere else. Even though they are here temporarily while working online to make money, they will still look elsewhere for their happiness. Olha wants to return to the study of psychology, and her husband to his previous profession – a musician and sound engineer. Their goal is Canada.
Olha, Kyiv
I would like to build a career there, it is never too late to return to studies, we are young. I can continue my studies in any other state, wherever I want.
Although it is not the same as at home with the whole family, in a slightly different environment, Olha still celebrates Orthodox Easter.
Miralem, Moscow
I love religious holidays and that love was passed on to me by my parents. Despite the fact there will be no family warmth and complete experience, the cakes are ready and we have painted the eggs.
This humble couple mentioned that they are no different from other couples. He finally stated:
“I’ll quote John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine all the people of the world will live as one.’ That message is pretty clear – don’t support anything that destroys.”, BHRT writes.