the touching testimony of Andrea Cisternino who chose not to abandon his animal shelter
“Not out of courage, but out of love”. Andrea Cisternino he tells the boys about San Patrignano the choice to stay in Ukraine, of do not abandon his animals at the outbreak of war.
Former fashion photographer, his life changed radically in the period of the 2012 European Football Championshipswhen the Ukrainian authorities plan the systematic killings of stray dogs, in supernumerary, with the most cruel methods. Supported by the European animal rights associations, Andrea engages in his fight against the “dog hunters”from which it will get death threats, even ending up under guard.
Founder 35 km from Kiev of the Rifugio Italia KJ2not by chance entitled tobear killed in Trentino in 2017, to date he takes care of 400 animals with a group of collaborators: not only dogs but also cats, cows, sheep, poultry which – he says proudly – “I saved one by one”.
On 24 February the first Russian fighters flew over the refugeprelude to strikes and a 40 day siege. In the ears and in the mind still the roar of the bombs. Soon everything is missing. Despite the isolation, the shelter organizes its resistance. “To save us in the first weeks – he says- the foodstuffs accumulated before the war; until unfortunately they are scarce and then the rationing, to feed the animals first of all, while people make do as they can “. An interminable time until the arrival of humanitarian aid, on April 2. “Another 4 days – he confesses – and we would be dead. At that moment I discovered that the Russians withdrew from the area ”. Now a brief return to Italy.
He is then moved by thinking about his friends Igor and Yana who are gone. And he reflects on fate: “We were not directly hit, the soldiers did not enter the shelter”, when they could even just raid the cattle to feed themselves, “and I cannot explain this to myself. We feel miraculous “.
In the video the interview with Andrea CisterninoRifugio Italia KJ2.