Hosting Refugees

What she saw on the other side of the border allowed her to escape her dark thoughts, at least for a moment. – Hot soup, toys, a kind of joy, the kindness with which the Poles and volunteers welcomed us. How they treated us with warmth and respect. It was just amazing – she recalls. Although her teenage daughters are not easy to please when it comes to food and won't even look at soup, there at the border it was not a problem as their main, and sometimes only, meal. In a burst of enthusiasm, they even suggested that they stay and live there, even if only in the tents where the meals were served. – I’ve already forgotten that first impression, but it was just such gratitude, forever.
However, they had to keep going. The map showed that it was still six hours to Wrocław. They were travelling in a car driven by her father. Through the windows, she could see crowds of people on buses, many with small children. She imagined how difficult their journey must be. – I am very grateful to my father for bringing us here. I had just had surgery on both knees and it was difficult for me to walk, especially with all these things and animals. Because her daughters' pets were also travelling with them – two mice, a small Yorkie and a cat. She was impressed by how well the animals had endured the journey. This deepened her relationship with them, because after hours of travelling together, they became more important to her than before, as she says – “in a very human way”.
Wrocław was supposed to be a stop on the way to Germany. She knew a musician from there who followed her artistic activities in Kharkiv on Facebook.
When full-scale war broke out, the man kept in touch and then offered her support and hospitality at his home. She decided to accept the invitation. They arrived in the city late at night. – He welcomed us and took us to his flat. The fridge was full of food, there was hot water, soft bedding and clean sheets. It was like home –  she recalls with delight.
He suggested that she take her time and stay in his flat for a while, even though Mariyka had planned to stay only one night – her friends were waiting for her in Munich and she had a flat booked. However, after arriving in Poland, she felt that she needed rest and time to decide – whether to go, as planned, to Germany, where she had friends, a flat and the prospect of a job, but be so far from home and find herself in a country so different from her own, or to take a risk and try to stay in Poland, which was close to Ukraine in every respect, but where nothing was certain, neither in terms of work nor housing.
Her friends in Germany expected her to make a quick decision and set a date and time for her arrival. She was unable to decide so quickly. – I didn’t understand what was going on at all. Give me a chance to catch my breath, warm up, relax – she recalls her emotions at the time. She also wanted to stay in Wrocław a little longer to get to know her landlord and not rush off to another place right away. She fondly remembers his selflessness and kindness.
The war, fear for her children, forced relocation from her family home, helplessness, travel and expectations she couldn't meet eventually caused her psychosomatic nerve pain, which led to illness. – I didn't want it to look like I was disregarding my friends from Germany, because they also wanted to help, and there were hundreds like me at the time. However, her illness gave her some time to rest and think about what to do next.
In the end, she decided to stay in Poland. She realised that she would not be able to endure another journey that would take her even further away from home.
A few months later, while walking along the Oder river, feeling nostalgic, she stopped for a coffee and began scrolling through photos on her phone, immersing herself in memories of her pre-war life. Suddenly, among the stream of personal photos, she noticed a strange landscape. Her first thought: ‘What is this? This isn't my hometown, is it? But I've seen it somewhere before?’ A moment later, she was shocked. She couldn't believe it, because what was in the photo was literally right in front of her. It was a panorama of Wrocław with a view of the Oder River and Ostrów Tumski. But the file was saved on 10 February 2022, when she didn't even imagine that she might end up somewhere in Poland. To this day, she has no idea how this photo ended up in her album — she probably liked it and saved it automatically. Maybe God already had plans for her.
– And then I realised that nothing happens by accident. This must be my path. It was supposed to be one night, but almost four years have passed. And during that time, amazing things have happened.
Among them is the Ukrainian children's choir KapustaBand, which she founded. They perform traditional Ukrainian songs, but their repertoire also includes Polish songs such as “Wolność” by Chłopcy z Placu Broni, “Moja i Twoja nadzieja” and many folk songs. In addition, she plays music, sings and participates in various artistic events, enriching Wrocław with her creativity. – I am very grateful to this city for its hospitality.
Like many refugees, she is also active as an activist, waiting for the end of the war and conditions that will allow her to return.
(The flash was written in collaboration with the protagonist of the text).

Klaudia Kosicińska

Panorama of Wrocław, screenshot from the protagonist's phone (author unknown, private archive)

– When it became clear that the war would not end soon, as we had thought, I had to take some steps, make some decisions, because, of course, I immediately found myself unemployed, with three daughters – Mariyka, an artist from Kharkiv, tells me. It is early summer 2025. We are sitting in Kwiaty Kawy in Wrocław, in a quiet spot on the mezzanine, chosen by my interlocutor. The smell of freshly roasted coffee and plants is conducive to conversation.
She had to focus on what she calls “basic and fundamental” matters, because the war made it impossible to make a living from art. She had no plans to leave her hometown of Kharkiv, where she had spent her entire life. However, persuaded by friends and family, she decided to go to Germany. She had friends there and the prospect of work, as well as support in finding a flat. She had to make a quick decision.
She was afraid, and her intuition told her that it would be difficult. She couldn't sleep. – In recent years, I've been more interested in travelling around Ukraine. And if I dreamed of anything, it was travelling around Zakarpattia to learn more about my country. I never thought about leaving here to live somewhere else. I just loved it here, in my city, one thousand per cent. And I remember a feeling of euphoria in recent years, when it seemed to me that this was the best place on earth. And how happy I am to live here.
She had been to the US as a child, but it was her trip to Poland on her way to Germany in 2022 that was actually her first trip abroad as an adult. – When you cross the border against your will or desire, it's as if something inside you breaks and breaks away.