Emotional journey to war-torn Ukraine
International
Taking refuge in a bomb shelter, the sounds of air-raid sirens filling the air, Bob Becker was angry.
Mr Becker, who has taught at Blackfriars Priory College since 1982, recently returned from war-torn Ukraine where, as well as spending time with family, he volunteered with Catholic humanitarian agency Caritas.
“The scent of war is palpable,” said Mr Becker, whose parents came to Australia from Ukraine as refugees in 1949 and whose mother-in-law and other close family members still live in Ukraine.
“Even though we were in western Ukraine, we saw buildings that were destroyed a few months before we arrived. Just days after we came back to Australia, just down the road from where we were, there was another building that was destroyed. You think, ‘but for the grace of God, that could have been us’.
“Air-raid sirens, we heard them regularly. On (Orthodox) Good Friday, there were four sets of air-raid sirens spread across the day.”
Mr Becker and wife Romana had long talked of visiting Ukraine to spend time with family. The ongoing war did, however, give them significant pause for thought.
“Our daughters were dead against it. The travel advice from the Australian government is do not travel and no insurance company will cover you for travel insurance,” Mr Becker said.
“And not many people travel there now. It’s a war. There are literally bombs falling all the time. So yes, of course, we did many double takes. ‘Are we really doing the right thing?’.”
The reality of life in a war zone was, at times, confronting. But amid the chaos, everyday life went on.
“In between all of the air-raid sirens, and between all the broken buildings, the shattered buildings, the scars of war everywhere, there is this real sense of normalcy,”
Mr Becker said.
“People still go to cafes. People still go to school. The university lectures still run. Hospitals are working. There are still people going to concerts.
“I got to see a lot of bomb shelters. We were angry that this has become the new normal for Ukrainians. The normalcy sweeps over you, too, but of course, there were times we were scared.”
Since the Russian invasion, Mr Becker has been actively involved in fundraising efforts through Caritas and the Ukraine Crisis Appeal. But he wanted to do more.
“I got in contact with some people who I knew had travelled (to Ukraine) recently…and they said, ‘what those people need as much as money is for people to go there, to talk to them, to help them’. That kind of sealed it. We knew we could do something really useful; make a contribution.”
With Caritas Ukraine, Mr Becker and his wife travelled to the Nazareth Centre in the Lviv region of western Ukraine.
The centre takes in members of the military, many suffering from addictions as a result of the trauma of war, as well as providing a safe place for children and displaced adults, and helps them to heal – physically, emotionally and spiritually.
“We saw…soldiers returning with post-traumatic stress,” Mr Becker said.
“What they would have seen is horrific. They may have alcohol dependency, or drug dependency, or may just not be able to cope with the situation.
“So, there is a lot of support and wonderful priests and nuns and NGOs (non-government organisations) working in those sorts of areas. Refilling that dependency with spiritual love and care.”
His time at the Nazareth Centre was “a roller-coaster of emotion”.
“We laughed, we cried, we hugged. We sat and talked and we just sat in silence. We held hands. We felt privileged that we were allowed into that experience,”
Mr Becker said.
“And they really appreciated the help and support that we were offering.”
According to Caritas Australia, the war in Ukraine has displaced more than 11 million people, many of them women and children.
– Shannon Caton
Donate to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal at caritas.org.au
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