“People have accepted their deaths”-The story of Uzbek refugees who survived the war

As reported earlier, on 24 February, Russia launched an armed attack on Ukraine, defending the People’s Republic of Donets and the People’s Republic of Luhansk. There have been five days of violent, bloody conflicts. Civilians are suffering after the war. At the same time, 
Uzbeks in Ukraine are facing unprecedented threats.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, there are 4,300 Uzbeks living in Ukraine. The real number of Uzbeks in Ukraine may be even greater. Most of them are migrant workers, their families, and students.

So far, videos have appeared on social media, in which it is claimed that Uzbeks spent the night in the subway feeling starved, and the embassy did not provide transportation. Meanwhile, Uzbeks in Kharkiv and Kyiv were transported by bus and train from Lviv to the Polish city of Katowice.

On 28 February, at 5:15 Tashkent time, the plane left Katowice, Poland, and at 23:00 Tashkent time, landed at Tashkent International Airport. Some 251 Uzbek citizens, including women, children, students, and workers in various fields, were brought to the country.

Barno Sabirova, who had lived with her family for four years in the Kyiv district of Nivka, said that after witnessing such tragedy, she was thankful for coming to Uzbekistan, and mentioned that she was about to be shot by Ukrainian soldiers.
Barno Sobirova, migrant worker from Khorezm (western province of Uzbekistan):

— At first, we didn’t believe it. We thought it would stop. Our feet were shaking from the sounds we heard on 24 February.  We were very scared. We thought we couldn’t get out. On the morning of the war, my husband called and said that in Kyiv, everything was ruined. We live in the Nivki district of Ukraine. My husband came in around lunch and said his workplace had been blown up too.

We lost everything we had, and my husband left his money where he worked.

There are citizens of Uzbekistan in Kyiv, and there are those who stayed voluntarily. When I called my neighbor and told him that I was going to return home through Poland, he said that he was an old man and that he would stay in Ukraine repeating «I will die anyway», regardless of the sound of the bomb. People have accepted their deaths.

We were also prepared to take secret routes to reach the Polish border. While the Ukrainian military stood there, they thought we were Russian citizens and tried to shoot us. We got to the border in our car, and after checking and making sure that we were citizens of Uzbekistan, they let us go.

Our next hero left for Ukraine with his family two months ago with great hopes.
Nurmatov Nurmamatov, a labor migrant from Khorezm:

«Ukraine is under constant bombardment. It is so frightening when you see it. We traveled to the Ukrainian-Polish border. All conditions have been provided for people. Thanks to the head of state for that. We are so glad to return to our country in good health and spirit.

The situation is very complicated in Ukraine. You can’t go outside. We were ready to face any unexpected threat at any time, hearing the alarm. Frankly, we panicked. Like everyone else, my family and I spent the night in the subway. When the air alarm sounded, we got in the subway and into the basement. In this situation, the people of Ukraine were also confused. Grocery stores and banks were closed. It was difficult to find bread. In this case, we ate what we found, and we ignored our stomachs. We collected firewood, and we lit them up, so the kids wouldn’t freeze at the border. Our children experienced the same hardships as adults. We woke up in the middle of the night scared when the windows closed with the force of the explosion. Conditions were good after moving to Poland. I thank the leaders of Poland and Uzbekistan for providing food and warm beds.”

Omadbek Rizayev, who has been living in Ukraine with his family for four months and works as a taxi driver, said that explosions were heard every half hour. Shots still ring in his ears.

Omadbek Rizayev, migrant worker:

“I didn’t see it explode, but I can still hear it in my ears. We didn’t think to go home because before the war in Ukraine the government said everything was fine. Suddenly the war started. We decided to leave the city the same day. We read about the opportunity to contact the embassy on social media and immediately contacted them. They said there were free trains, but we came to the Polish border in our car.”

Sirojiddin Kaharov, a resident of Fergana who has been working as a car mechanic in central Ukraine for almost five months, said that the bomb exploded 15 kilometers away from his workshop. Fighter planes were flying overhead. He remembers the weapons given to the Ukrainian people and the difficulties along the way.
Sirojiddin Kaharov, migrant worker:

— A bomb fell 15 kilometers from my place of work. The earth was shaking. We saw the missiles fly over us. The second day they came even closer. Almost all the owners of the house we lived in were leaving their homes. The Ukrainians themselves tried to flee, saying that it was dangerous to stay there. As soon as the siren rang, everyone ran to safety. People decided to escape. We felt safe after coming back to the country. Many thanks to the Uzbek government for the terms.

According to the Uzbekistan Embassy, it is possible to get to Uzbekistan through the Polish border. We passed 35 kilometers and arrived about in 3 days. The weather was good during the day, but at night it was cold. I was accompanied by 25 Uzbeks, but fortunately none of them were injured. I’ve never been in this situation before.

Despite her young age, 9-year-old Madina says that she witnessed terrible events in Ukraine.

«My name is Madina. I am 9 years old. In Ukraine, Putin fought with Zelensky. Then bombs were dropped on Kyiv. A city was occupied by Putin. But Putin… Many people are helping Zelensky. Bombs exploded near our house. At that time, we were visiting relatives. They live on the ground floor. When we went outside, Dad said that a bomb had been dropped.
16-year-old Muslima said that she was shocked that many cities in Ukraine had been set on fire, adding that she had witnessed such terrible incidents for the first time.

“We lived in a war zone in Kyiv. We woke up at 4-5 a.m. Then, we contacted the embassy and they evacuated us quickly within three days. It’s too scary. I saw it for the first time, and I was scared. We went down to the basement of our house. Many places were burned to the ground. Invaders attacked many places. «Ukraine now protects the rest of its cities».

According to the official representative of the Ministry of Transport, Navruz Ashurmatov, the next flight is expected to repatriate another 200 Uzbek citizens. He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also planning to launch more flights once all citizens would be assembled and taken to a safe area.
In connection with the events in Ukraine, our government is working to evacuate our citizens. The evacuation is currently coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Transport is directly involved in the process of transporting our citizens to our country.
“The first special flight from Katowice, Poland, started today. This flight brought 251 citizens to our country. The second flight is scheduled for the early morning of 1 March. More than 200 citizens will be returned into our country. "

In addition, all these flights are free of charge. No airfare is charged to citizens arriving on these flights.

I want to emphasize one thing here. Today, some social media outlets have spread the report on the charges for the tickets of special flights. I wish to emphasize that our citizens do not believe in such information, and these flights from Poland, Katowice to Tashkent are absolutely free.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also plans to conduct regular flights, keeping our citizens together and taking them to the safe zone”, – Ashurmatov said.
If you are in Ukraine now,  you can contact the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Ukraine:

Tel: +380 44 501 50 00, +380 44 501 41 81, +380 44 501 41 82, +380 44 501 41 83.
Fax: +380 44 501 50 01
E-mail: embassy@uzbekistan.org.ua
Address: 01901, Ukraine, Kiev, Vladimir Street, 16.