The interview was conducted by our Hungarian correspondent Elmar Forster
Why did you flee Ukraine?
We fled because it became absolutely life-threatening for me and my two children from the second half of last week. There is a military airport in my home town. Soldiers were transferred there for years. The airport is only a few kilometres away from our home. It was destroyed by some guided missiles on Thursday morning. The impact of the missiles made the earth shake. We witnessed the missiles as if they had hit directly in our front garden. At the same time, Belarusian troops with tanks arrived at the borders of our town.
Why did you flee to Austria?
We fled to Austria because relatives live here and we are safe and cared for here. However, the decision was not easy , as my son goes to school in Ukraine and my daughter is studying at the university. I was also involved in the care of my grandmother, which can now only be managed by my mother and my aunt. I am very worried about my parents and relatives.
How did you experience the escape? When did you make the decision to flee?
The escape was an ordeal. A relative brought us by car as close as possible to the Polish border. However, he was turned back by Ukrainian law enforcement officers far before the border, as men fit for military service are not allowed to leave the country. So we were “abandoned” and had to walk a long distance, probably about 30 kilometres. We were on the road for two days and of course had to get rid of all our luggage.On the way, we encountered many women, some of them very exhausted, some of them collapsing because they had to carry small children, some even babies in diapers. We helped them as much as we could. During the march we had nothing to drink. We were therefore pleased when we finally crossed the Polish border without any problems, where we were immediately welcomed very warmly and given the best first aid. Many thanks to our Christian Polish friends and neighbours!
The Selinskyi government distributed weapons among the civilian population… Was this action useful or is it not even dangerous for internal security?
The distribution of arms to the civilian population was correct and very effective. Without this measure, the defense of Kyiv and other cities would have collapsed long ago. Putin had imagined a blitzkrieg – a complete misjudgment! In his February 21 speech, he insulted and challenged every single Ukrainian. He is now getting his comeuppance. Ukraine will not be conquered in this way. Internal security has been destroyed by the Russian elite’s attack. It has turned Ukraine into a field of ruins. But the Russians have not managed to turn the brother nations of Ukrainians and Russians into enemies. In any case, self-defence is always legitimate!
Reports are beginning to leak out to the West that the Ukraine crisis is also being misused by Arab and African refugees as freeloader…
Unfortunately, the horror stories about the behavior of some Muslim refugees are true. I’ve experienced it myself: On our flight we met larger troops of Syrian, Maghreb, black African young men . They were admitted to the Ukraine after 2015 , received a scholarship for the universities of Kiev, Kharkov and Liviv/Lemberg and were cared for by the Ukraine for years.
As we fled, we encountered a group of such men. They insulted us as infidel sluts, unclean creatures, and “riffraff cursed by Allah”…Then they confronted us while doing so. As we were not impressed, some of them opened their trousers and announced that they wanted to rape us. We, the women, clasped each other so that none could be torn out and separated. I was scared to death, the children screamed – but we managed, thank God, to put our attackers to flight.
We are grateful to be warmly welcomed in Austria. We will certainly work diligently where we can. Natalia
