“This war is devastating . . . it’s not only one area of Ukraine, but the entire country is in ruins,” are the words of Ukrainian-born Lyuba Bridger (48), who now calls Wellington her home.
She may be safely ensconced in the Boland, but her family and friends in Europe are all directly affected by the war on the country being waged by Russia.
In solidarity with the people of Ukraine, Bridger joined a group of 20 locals waging a peaceful protest in Piet Retief Street on Friday (11 March).
“Pray for Ukraine” was the message on their posters portraying their yellow-and-blue painted pleas in peace.
South Africa has been Bridger’s home for the past 25 years. “I have been here longer than in my birth country. I have a big family in Ukraine, as one of five children in my immediate family. I have three brothers, who still live there with my nephews and nieces, and are scattered over the west, east, south and centre of the country.”
What lies at the very heart of the matter, Bridger says, are people who are dying daily, not just as casualties of conflict, but due to food and water shortages.
“The main routes of nearly the entire country are currently occupied by Russian forces, and people are dying after not having access to resources for the past three weeks. I have heard about and seen footage of people scraping up snow to melt for some hydration. It’s also still winter there, with spring approaching soon, and I do not mean South African cold temperatures. I’m talking about -10° Celsius.”
There are also people who were caught off-guard by the onset of the war in which many were severely exposed to the elements in only one set of clothes.
Bridger says she’s been following the situation in her country on social media. One video details devastating conditions in the city of Kharkiv, where 100 children, from newborns to year-olds, were orphaned by the bomb attacks.
“They were trapped in a bomb shelter in Kharkiv for a week-and-a-half, in which they had to cope with the barest of necessities. They were trapped in the cold with no electricity or proper food and milk supplies or even nappies.”
Bridger explained that these very children were transported to Poland by bus for 50 hours before they could be replenished with warmth and food in their bellies.
“I can’t speak much to the politics, but what I do know is that whatever is happening is evil. One thing that is truly amazing is the way all Ukrainians have united.
“It is divine intervention from God, who is bringing the people of Ukraine together to fight, not in terms of conflict, but to address the circumstances brought onto the defenceless.”
She told Paarl Post about her Christian faith and that her family had been victims of persecution by the Soviet Union before Ukraine’s independence in 1991.
“My brother is a pastor who has been sourcing and working with volunteers in places related to this conflict for years. My sister-in-law is a nurse in the south, currently assisting both Ukrainians and Russian soldiers.
“There are endless stories I can tell that’s happening as we speak. Yet, the unity of God is infectious which is a comfort as it has also unified my people with journalists from all over the world, who are on the ground to report on this ongoing war.”
