From Kiev to Porto. ″I just want peace in my land, in Portugal I have everything″
On March 7, Galyna Akhmadzai told TSF that she didn’t know if she would ever be able to sleep well again. She is now in Portugal and says that the images of the war days still make her wake up in the middle of the night. “I’m already in Portugal 11, the last time they traveled three times I was still in Kiev and then I had the opportunity to go out and accompany a passenger train. to Porto.”
The plane trip was helped by Portuguese friends, who have a new life. “Life here is almost easy for me, I speak Portuguese well to many friends here. But with that feeling of homesickness, I always have for my country.
Hearing the sound of an airplane, Galyna hesitates… the marks of the days spent in war are still clearly visible. “I’m always on the lookout for planes from planes, always. Last night at midnight I heard rockets and we got up in the best way. Whoever this stays forever in Kiev.
subscribe newsletter
Galyna Akhmadzai left her family in Ukraine, speaks like them every day. “The first ones, aunts, are fine… They are in the western part of Ukraine and they are fine.
Read too:
There are two days “stuck” in the shelter. “If I could leave Kiev, but now it’s too dangerous”
He left Kiev with only one backpack. In Portugal, Galyna is receiving social security support, a monthly food basket, attends a course through the Employment Centre. “When I was in Portugal, this wasn’t very prepared or very organized, but now it’s organized and it’s very easy. I have a friend who arrived two weeks ago and she already has all the documentation, it’s very easy to get all the documentation, go to the job or get help from the city council”.
Read too:
“We’re glad we survived one more night.” Daily life in Kiev under attack
At the moment he shares a house with two Ukrainian friends, one arrived with her 4-year-old daughter, who is already in preschool, but for both Portuguese is an unknown language. “From what I see, Ukrainians who arrive in Portugal and do not speak Portuguese, and have difficulty speaking English, have difficulty finding a job. To work, they have to know at least Portuguese or basic English… But I think that the Portuguese course that we have through the help center a lot, it’s an intensive course, there are two classes a week but it’s almost all day.”
Read too:
“Ten days of war turned my life around, I don’t know if I’ll stay as I was”
Galyna Hackmadzay has just got a job at an insurance company, a new area, starts work next month. Returning to Ukraine is not part of the short-term plans. At night when she goes to bed she always makes the same request. “I just want peace in my land and this war to end and my country to start living a normal life. That there are no children to suffer, die, families… I just want it in my land. I don’t ask for anything for myself, I have all!”.
FOLLOW ALL ABOUT THE WAR IN UKRAINE HERE