She looked hot, disheveled and desperate, but Valentina spoke calmly as she entered the small office in the center of Warsaw. He was looking for help – any help. She had come to the Polish capital alone in late April from the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, fleeing Russian bombs and worried about the toll the war was taking on her health. At 74, she knew it was nearly impossible to find a job. She lived rent-free thanks to a kind Polish landlady and survived on food rations. But the accommodation wouldn’t last forever, and many of the refugee centers that offered hot meals were closing. He had already been turned down for financial help by a charity because he didn’t meet their criteria. Now, at the office of the Polish International Aid Center, he received more bad news: The organization was only offering financial assistance to people with disabilities that morning, and he didn’t meet the requirements. “I have to survive, somehow,” he muttered as he wandered down the street, hoping to try another aid station. The war in Ukraine hangs over the UN meeting on the nuclear treaty Russia hits southern Ukrainian city, killing grain exporter, governor says Valentina, who declined to give her last name, they are among the millions of elderly Ukrainians driven from their homes by the war. The high 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 aged 60 and over, 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 has taken place. The vast majority of refugees are women, since adult men are not allowed to leave Ukraine, and many are grandmothers who have helped bring their children and grandchildren to safety. Now, after living in a foreign country for nearly six months, psychologists say a growing number of elderly refugees are struggling with trauma, the loss of their homes and trying to get by on a meager Ukrainian pension. “For them it’s very difficult,” said Liudmyla Zana, a psychologist who fled the heavily bombed Kharkiv in March and now counsels elderly refugees in Warsaw. “They have very big emotional problems. Almost everyone is stressed.” Dr. Zana holds a weekly session with people over 60 years old. None of them speak Polish or have a job. They all live with family members but are desperate to return to Ukraine. “For the elderly it is difficult because they have more memories of Ukraine. It’s harder to adapt,” said Dr Zana, whose counseling sessions are supported by the Polish charity HumanDoc. A survey 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 kind of psychological distress. “The war and its consequences have sent millions of Ukrainians into severe psychological shock,” said the study, led by Piotr Długosz, a professor at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. “Leaving one’s belongings, leaving one’s home under fire and the great unknown of one’s future fate is a huge shock and anxiety.” For many older refugees, the pain can often be even more acute. Ukrainian refugee Zinaida Polosina, pictured on July 24, is living for free in an apartment in Warsaw thanks to a family friend. Anna Liminowicz/The Globe and Mail Raisa Levayk, 65, fled to Poland from Chernihiv in mid-April with her two daughters and a grandson. She left behind her husband, son and son-in-law. They are currently living rent-free in a home provided by a Polish family, but that support may end this fall. Ms Levayk says she worries about money and has struggled 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 adjust and feel at home here,” she said after attending one of Dr. Zana’s counseling sessions last week. During the session, Lidiia Zub was sitting next to Ms. Levayk. She could not stop crying when asked about the difficulties she has faced since arriving in Warsaw from Brovary at the end of March with her daughter. Mrs. Zub, 61, has problems with her pancreas and lives in constant pain. But the earliest he can see a doctor is December. He has some medication and thought about going back 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,” he said. “It is very difficult for the elderly to get medical help in Poland.” He also just wants to go home and be in familiar surroundings. Many older refugees like Zinaida Polosina, 61, have decided to return to Ukraine – regardless of the risk. Ms Polosina and her granddaughter, 10-year-old Sonia, came to Warsaw from the Zaporizhzhia region during the peak of the refugee influx last March. Since then they have been staying with a family friend and Sonia took the Pole and some friends. But Ms Polosina found it difficult to live in Poland. Her pension — about 6,750 national currency 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 national currencies to one zloty, and now it’s eight to one,” he said. “Life is hard here. I get some money, but trying to live on my own here on my pension is impossible.” And while the Poles have been largely friendly and helpful, she doesn’t speak the language and has a hard time meeting people. She has never traveled much in her life – the furthest she had ever gone before the war was to Russia. Now she is determined to move to Kyiv in August to be near her son. “It would have been different if I had come 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.” The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
