Afghan family in Ukraine forced to flee conflict for second time in eight months

Images and footage of the family available here.

Suceava, Romania

Conflict has forced a family from Afghanistan to flee across borders twice in less than a year after taking refuge in Ukraine. 

Fourteen-year-old Samad* and his family faced the unthinkable when fighting erupted in Ukraine just eight months after they fled violence in Afghanistan. 

Samad’s father Mohammad* said: “My family came here for peace. But when they heard fighting would start here… nobody could believe it. That there would be bombing, there would be fighting. But it was real. It was not a dream.” 

Fighting in Ukraine has forced hundreds of thousands of children into neighbouring countries in the space of just two weeks. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, including children. Schools and health facilities have come under attack. 

Away from the violence which has escalated to horrific levels in Ukraine, conflict rages in many places across the world. The number of children living in high intensity conflict zones is rising, reaching 193 million according to the latest figures. 

Samad and his family were in eastern Afghanistan when fighting escalated across the country in July 2021. Along with his father, mother and two grown up siblings, Samad made it to Kabul where they spent three days outside the airport trying to secure their escape, with gunfire ringing out as the alarming pictures were beamed across the world. 

Samad said: “It was war and it was bombing, and very bad days. A lot of people were killed in this war. So we left Afghanistan.” 

When they finally made it inside and onto an evacuation flight their destination was Ukraine, where Mohammad had spent time living and working for 30 years. The thought that just months later they would be fleeing for their lives a second time was unimaginable. 

But the unimaginable happened. Samad was settling into life in eastern Ukraine, going to school, making friends and starting to learn the language when suddenly he and his family found themselves in the path of approaching bombardment again. 

Samad said: “It was a very big thing for me to come from war, and live in a peaceful place… This was very good for me and my family. I made friends... I came to school. And the people were very kindly.” 

As the fighting started, Samad and his family heard explosions in the distance. They made the devastating decision to flee another country. 

For Samad, the echoes of eight months ago are unavoidable. “It was just like this in Kabul. A lot of people wanted to leave Kabul and go to a peaceful place. And [in Ukraine], a lot of people wanted to leave and go to a peaceful place, for their children, for themselves. 

“When the war started in Afghanistan we left our house full of things.” Now, after rebuilding their lives once, they were forced to abandoned everything they own in Ukraine. “We just closed and locked our house and came here,” he added. 

They drove for more than thirty hours on crowded roads before waiting three days at the border, sleeping in their car while temperatures plummeted outside. With shelves at roadside petrol stations emptying, they were glad they had brought food with them. That was all they had managed to bring apart from the clothes on their backs.  

The overwhelming feeling of relief when they crossed the border was sadly all too familiar. “Just like when I came to Kyiv, the feeling was the same when I came to Romania.” 

The public’s incredible generosity has helped to raise over £150 million in a single week for the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, including £25 million matched by the UK Government, in an inspiring demonstration of support for people fleeing the conflict.  

Donations to the DEC appeal mean that DEC charities and their local partners are able to respond immediately to urgent needs both inside Ukraine and on its borders, and help rebuild lives in the months and years to come. 

DEC member charity Save the Children works in the reception centre where Samad and his family are staying and provided them with information and guidance, clothes and shoes. The aid agency is also on the border distributing food, blankets and hygiene kits. 

Gabriela Alexandrescu, CEO of Save the Children Romania, said: “Children and families across Ukraine are facing impossible decisions every day. The choice between retreating below ground to try and survive a terrifying onslaught or abandoning everything and escaping as conflict rages is one no parent should have to make. To be forced to flee across borders twice in the space of months is almost impossible to conceive.  

“Many people originally from outside Europe are fleeing Ukraine and they need Europe’s help and protection.” 

For now, it’s impossible for Samad to comprehend the impact of what he has been through. “In the future I will miss a lot of things that I had there. [But] for us it’s a very big thing for us to be safe, it’s enough for us to be safe here.” 

Mohammad knows just how hard it has been on his family. “Of course it is very hard to leave your home, your house, your country your city. But there was no option.” 

With tens of thousands of people entering the country in a short period of time, the funds donated to DEC’s appeal allows DEC member charities to help people like Mohammad and his family and ensure they feel welcome in Romania in the midst of so much chaos and uncertainty. 

Their future is not yet certain. Hopes and fears about what will come next exist side by side. “We’re just in a camp, and I’m worried for my future. I want to study, I want to be a good man. For my family, for my future, for myself,” said Samad. 

Mohammad added, “Everything will be right. I think so. I hope so.” 

 *Name changed to protect identity 

24/02/23 Update: Find out how donations are helping one year on from the start of the conflict here.

ENDS 

Notes to Editors: 

Multimedia content available here 

Media enquiries please call 020 7387 0200 or 07734 653616 (out of hours).  

DEC charities are working in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, ramping up efforts to meet the growing humanitarian need. We have spokespeople available in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and the UK.   

For more information or to request interviews in advance please contact: bguiton@dec.org.uk 

A collection of images and video footage of DEC member charities responding as refugees arrive into neighbouring countries is available here.  

About the DEC: The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response. The DEC’s 15 member charities are: Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.  

Thirteen of the DEC’s 15 members are either responding or planning to respond in Ukraine or in neighbouring countries and will receive funds from this appeal. Some may work through trusted local partners. They are Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK and World Vision UK.  

Through UK Aid Match the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gives the British public the opportunity to have a say in how the UK aid budget is spent whilst boosting the impact of the very best British charities to change and save the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. The UK Government match funded up to £25 million of public donations to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. This is the largest commitment ever made to a DEC appeal through UK Aid Match and will double the impact of public donations, ensuring that charities working on the ground can reach those in urgent need.  

UK Aid Match has increased the impact of a number of DEC appeals to help those in need around the world, including most recently to support people in Afghanistan through DEC’s Afghanistan Appeal in 2021.  

Enquiries about UK Aid Match and UK Government support for Ukraine should be directed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Newsdesk. Please email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk.   

How to donate:   

• Online: dec.org.uk  
• Phone: 0370 60 60 900  
• SMS: To donate £10 text SUPPORT to 70150. Texts cost £10 plus the standard network charge and the whole £10 goes to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payer's permission. For full terms and conditions and more information go to www.dec.org.uk  
• Or donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office or send a cheque by post to Post: DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA.