Ten Ukrainian nationals, including six children, found shelter some 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) from their home thanks to a retired teacher. run away from war in their country, these Ukrainians are the guests of Miyase Tanik in the southern province of Turkey of Adana.
Tanık is the mother of Mehmet Elibal, a living Turk in Konotop, a city in northeastern Ukraine which is now controlled by Russia. Elibal has decided to return home when the war broke out out last month. When he saw that his neighbors and friends did not have place go, he asked son mother if he could bring them to Adana with him. Tanık gladly accepted the request.
Through a recently opened humanitarian corridor and after an overland journey that took five days, Elibal and 10 Ukrainian nationals reached Adana.
Tanık told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday that she son, who works in software sector, was in Ukraine since 2009. Elibal, divorced from his Ukrainian wife, lives with son 5-year-old son.
“I was worried about them when the war started. I was in contact with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I asked them to evacuate him and my grandson. Finally, the humanitarian corridor has opened up on March 11,” she said. It now houses five mothers and their children from Ukraine. “I am happy to welcome them here. I hope they will feel comfortable here, at least until the end of the war. I hope it will be over soon,” she says. Mehmet Elibal is grateful to son mother car she “did not hesitate for a moment to animate these people.”
“They did not have place go in Europe. They could have gone to the Polish or Romanian border but had no knowledge in European countries,” he said.
42-year-old Natalia Preyatko is one of Tanık’s Ukrainian guests, with with son daughter Married. “I had to leave my husband and close behind,” she said. Men in Ukraine has mostly volunteered to fight against Russia while women and children left the country, often traveling to Europe. “The situation is very bad in my country. i hope it ends soon,” she says.
Tatiana Yaromko, who took shelter with the Turkish family with his both children, says son country was “under fire.” “They fire in the houses, they fire everywhere, even hospitals. It’s horrible. We appreciate Turkey for open its doors,” she said.
