“I’d rather be useful than safe”

Without sedatives, Olga (50) would not have dared to come to this café on the outskirts of Kiev. The violent death of her son-in-law, the constant rocket alarms, the widowed daughter alone with the two small children, the man somewhere in occupied Russian territory: “I could scream! Why is all this happening? Why is this happening to us?” asks Olga with a blank look and a wry smile.

Olga is one of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine who have already returned to their dangerous homeland after fleeing abroad. Since February 24, 2022, more than eight million people have had to flee the country – the largest refugee flow since World War II. Since then, more than six million have crossed the border back to Ukraine. Just like Olga.

Walk with the shopping bags to the 23rd floor

Only in March did she flee hard-fought eastern Ukraine with her son. She doesn’t want to read the name of her city in the newspaper any more than her surname: “My husband is still in our occupied homeland. I don’t want to put him in danger.” She left the Ukraine all alone – for the first time in her life – and after a long journey through Poland and Germany ended up in Basel.

“At first I didn’t even realize that this is Switzerland,” says Olga. It suddenly becomes dark and quiet in the café: power failure. Sirens sound outside. Olga shrugs her shoulders only slightly below hers self knitted sweater. “It’s part of it.” After two or three hours the power comes back. “Only the elevator in our block doesn’t work anymore,” says Olga. For months she walks from the 23rd floor down to the cafe and back up again – some days with heavy water containers and shopping bags.

In Switzerland, Olga ended up with a family in Dietikon ZH. “Great people,” says the Ukrainian enthusiastically. She tried to learn German and find a job. The first was inconvenient, the second didn’t work. And then her son-in-law Alexej (†30) in front Severodonetsk died, she was overcome with despair. “He could only hold his son in his arms once before he fell. The enemies are killing our best people – every day,” says Olga with her tranquilizer smile.

“Come back, we need you!”

Olga couldn’t take it anymore in beautiful Switzerland with all those helpful people and all those beautiful flowers. “I’d rather be useful than safe,” she told herself, and journeyed back to her widowed daughter. “Inside I’m much calmer here, even though it’s a lot more dangerous than in Switzerland,” she says. «I am Ukrainian. I belong in Ukraine. I have to be there for my kids.”

Not only Olga sees it this way. More than one in ten Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland has already left the country. There are currently about 77,000 people from the war-torn country here. More than 9000 have already left our country.

Olga hopes that all those who fled will soon do the same. According to a UN survey, eight out of ten refugees from Ukraine want to return to their homeland one day. But that’s not enough, says Olga. “We need everyone here to rebuild the country.” Her message to her fellow citizens: «After the war you must all come home! We can’t do it without you.”

Source: Blick