Lyudmila Zana, a Ukrainian refugee and psychologist in Warsaw, comforts Lydia Zub, 61, another refugee struggling with the challenges of life in a foreign country, on July 25. Anna Liminovich / The Globe and Mail
She looked hot, disheveled and desperate, but Valentina spoke calmly as she entered the small office in the center of Warsaw. She was looking for help – any help.
She had come alone to the Polish capital at the end of April from the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, fleeing Russian bombs and worried about the damage the war had done to her health. At 74, she knew finding work was nearly impossible. She lived rent-free thanks to a kind Polish landlord and survived on handouts. But the accommodation would not last forever, and many of the refugee centers that offered hot food were closing.
She has already been turned down for financial assistance by a charity because she did not meet their criteria. Now, at the office of the Polish Center for International Aid, she received more bad news: The organization was only offering financial assistance to people with disabilities this morning, and she didn’t qualify.
“I have to survive somehow,” she muttered as she wandered down the street, hoping to try another aid agency.
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Valentina, who declined to give her last name, is among the millions of older Ukrainians who have been driven from their homes by the war. The large number of elderly refugees is partly due to the fact that Ukraine has one of the oldest populations in Europe. About a quarter of Ukrainians are 60 or older, according to the charity HelpAge International, and that figure jumps to 30 percent in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where some of the bloodiest fighting is taking place.
The majority of refugees are women, as adult men are not allowed to leave Ukraine, and many of them are grandmothers who helped their children and grandchildren to be saved. Now, after living in a foreign land for almost six months, psychologists say a growing number of older refugees are grappling with trauma, the loss of their homes and the strain of trying to live on a meager Ukrainian pension.
“It’s very difficult for them,” said Lyudmila Zana, a psychologist who left heavily bombed Kharkiv in March and now counsels older refugees in Warsaw. “They have very big emotional problems. Almost everyone experiences anxiety.
Dr. Zana conducts weekly sessions with people over the age of 60. None of them speak Polish or have jobs. They all live with family members but are desperate to return to Ukraine.
“It is difficult for the elderly because they have more memories of Ukraine. It’s harder to adapt,” said Dr Zanna, whose consultations are supported by the Polish charity HumanDoc.
A study last spring of 737 Ukrainian refugees by a team of Polish researchers found that 76 percent suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and 50 percent had some type of psychological distress. “The war and its consequences have left millions of Ukrainians with a severe psychological shock,” said the study, led by Piotr Dlugosz, a professor at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. “Leaving his life’s possessions behind, fleeing his home under fire and the great uncertainty of his future fate is a huge shock and stress.”
For much older refugees, the pain can often be even more acute.
Ukrainian refugee Zinaida Polosyna, pictured on July 24, is living for free in an apartment in Warsaw thanks to a family friend. Anna Liminovich/The Globe and Mail
Raisa Lewaik, 65, fled to Poland from Chernihiv in mid-April with her two daughters and one grandson. She left behind her husband, son and son-in-law.
For now, they live rent-free in a house provided by a Polish family, but that support may end this fall. Ms Lewaik says she worries about money and is struggling to adjust to life in Poland. She doesn’t speak Polish, can’t find a job, and spends most of her day knitting. “I can’t adapt and feel at home here,” she said after attending one of Dr. Zana’s consultations last week.
During the session, Lydia Zub sat next to Ms. Levyk. She could not stop crying when asked about the difficulties she has faced since she arrived in Warsaw from Browary at the end of March with her daughter.
Mrs. Zub, 61, has problems with her pancreas and lives with constant pain. But the earliest she can see a doctor is in December. She has some medication and is considering returning to Ukraine for surgery. But he fears that if he leaves Poland, he may not be able to return as a refugee.
“It hurts all the time,” she said. “It’s very difficult for elderly people to get medical care in Poland.” She also wants to just go home and be among familiar surroundings.
Many older refugees like Zinaida Polosyna, 61, have decided to return to Ukraine – regardless of the danger.
Ms Polosina and her granddaughter, 10-year-old Sonia, came to Warsaw from the Zaporozhye region during the peak of the refugee flow in March last year. Since then they have been staying with a family friend and Sonia has taken Polish and a few friends.
But Mrs. Polosina thinks that life in Poland is too difficult. Her pension — roughly 6,750 hryvnias a month, or about $235 — barely covers expenses, especially with the Ukrainian currency steadily losing value against the Polish zloty. “When I came here it was seven hryvnias to one zloty, and now it’s eight to one,” she said. “Life is hard here. I get some money, but to try to live here on my own with my pension, it’s impossible.”
And while Poles are largely friendly and helpful, she doesn’t speak the language and finds it difficult to meet people. She never traveled much in her life – the furthest she went before the war was to Russia.
Now she is determined to move to Kyiv in August to be close to her son. “It would be different if I came here when I was younger — if I was 30 or 40 years old and I came here with kids,” she said. “But I’m older and I miss Ukraine.”
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