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The Pidlisny Family

Yulia and Alexander have 2 children: Valeria (she is 18 years old) and Andrey (he is 14 years old).

On February 27, a heavy bombing began in their village. The family hid in their basement, waiting for it to be over. But it got worse. On March 4, they realized that they needed to run. After waiting for a short break from the shelling, they grabbed the documents, got into the car, and left the village. They left their little dogs: Pati and Jesse, because they thought they would only be gone 2-3 days. They couldn’t believe it could go on for long. They asked their friend, who was in defense of the village, to feed the dogs. He agreed. The family left for Cherkasy. When the family realized the war would last, Alexander plucked up the courage and returned to the village to pick up the dogs.

Yulia cries when she tells how hard they worked to have a good house. They had a large farm: pigs, chickens, and a cow. Alexander worked as a truck driver; the children practically did not see him; he dreamed that when he finished repairing the house, he would leave this job and be with his family as often as possible. Yulia says that when they first saw their ruined home, she realized that the war instantly wiped out 20 years of their lives: there was no house, no farm, and nothing they gained from hard work. They are happy that they and their children are alive.

Before the war, Yulia worked for a wealthy family in another village (not shelled by the Russians) and helped them around the house. When the war started, this family left for Europe. Yulia and her family were allowed to live in their house. Now the family lives there. Recently they learned that the house was put up for sale. They live under great stress, realizing that they will simply have nowhere to go if someone buys a house. Yulia is unemployed; Alexander works in a store warehouse, and it will be difficult for him to rent a house and feed his children on his salary.