Russians from Gaza were placed next to Ukrainian refugees: “I won’t go back”

Yulia with two daughters, a granddaughter and hundreds of evacuees from the Gaza Strip were accommodated in a children’s camp near Volokolamsk.

We started talking about the difficulties the Russians encountered when crossing the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

“When we left the enclave, the Egyptians at the checkpoint pestered us about every piece of paper, every comma,” recalls Yulia. “My daughter only has an Arabic birth certificate, so they pulled her over.” But the guys from the consulate fought for ours. For five hours, they literally scratched out two men with Palestinian passports, whom they did not want to let through, although their wives were Russian. Almost the consul himself provided guarantees to the Egyptian side that these people would leave the country.

When we arrived in Cairo, we were fed. Sausage, cheese and different types of coffee seemed like a luxury to me after Gaza, where there wasn’t even bread. I feel like I’ve gone to heaven after hell: I’ve died, suffered torment, and here’s heaven. We lived in luxurious rooms. For a long time I could not get out of the shower, I bathed and drank this water.

The woman admits that the flight was not easy for her.

— We flew on a special plane of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. This is no ordinary plane with soft seats. They sat on hard metal benches, some on the floor. I couldn’t lean my elbows, I really wanted to straighten up. There was dubak in the cabin, we insulated it as best we could. It’s hard, especially since before that we spent a day on the road. We traveled to Cairo in cramped minibuses, our backs were falling off.

When we got off the plane, we were met by Emergency Situations Ministry employees, and people were immediately covered with a blanket. While the documents were being processed at the airport, they brought us warm clothes. Some things had tags, even the panties were in the package. True, I couldn’t find a new jacket in my size. But even the used things turned out to be good quality, not like “God forbid, what’s not good for us.”

When we arrived at the accommodation point, some Muslim community in Moscow brought a whole truckload of chic new down jackets, boots, scarves, hats, and gloves.

So we are packed with outerwear. Turtlenecks and leggings are not enough. They found overalls and a hat for my granddaughter, but no pants, tights, or socks. The list of necessary things was announced to the volunteers. All our requests are responded to quickly. We recently received diapers in the right size. I also asked to buy a stroller, they promised to deliver.

Ukrainian refugees live in the camp next to those evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

“We were placed in different buildings. There are, in my opinion, about a hundred Ukrainians here. I met one woman, she is from near Donetsk. She’s been living in a temporary detention center for two years,” Yulia continues. — Her children go to school, she works somewhere. Well, it’s not bad: there is housing, food… Of course, not a Michelin-starred restaurant, but after Gaza I like everything here.

— Are there many people in your building?

– There are a lot of people. Some did not have enough rooms. People were temporarily placed in a medical isolation unit until space for them became available. Many people travel to different regions. More than 40 people left our party.

But there are those who have nowhere to go. Some have problems with documents, others with money. For example, my friend is registered in Karelia, but her house in the village is about to be demolished. They promise to provide housing in a year or two. But not a fact. She thought of going to her sister, but she was unable to receive her. If your relatives live in a one-room apartment, how will you fit in there with three children? And large families came from Gaza.

-Are you going to leave?

– We will go to our father in St. Petersburg. I don’t have the opportunity to buy a ticket to St. Petersburg, so I turned to the Ministry of Emergency Situations to pay for my travel.

We were planning to leave last week. But my daughter and granddaughter ended up in the hospital. The child noticed blood in his diaper and contracted an intestinal infection. This was probably due to the bad water we had to drink in Gaza. Many evacuees had similar problems.

Another reason why you will have to stay is that you need to draw up documents for your granddaughter. This is a large hemorrhoid. She needs to be registered and apply for citizenship. Federal Migration Service employees come to the camp several times a week and help with paperwork. Here, too, everything is not so simple, but in St. Petersburg you will have to run around with the child yourself.

To be honest, I’m afraid to go on an independent voyage for now. God forbid what happens to my granddaughter, where will I go without documents? They will provide primary care, they are required to pick you up in an ambulance, but what next? The camp has its own isolation ward, a nurse, and an ambulance on duty 24/7. If something serious happens, they will take you to the Volokolamsk hospital.

So if they don’t kick me out, I’ll stay for now. But for years I would not be able to live here. Everything is official, common, but you want your own corner, silence and so that no one bothers you.

“They talk a lot about people being stressed after the events they experienced. This is true?

– I have not noticed. In any case, I didn’t get hysterical even in Gaza, maybe only a couple of times at the very beginning. There, on the contrary, you mobilize, curl into a ball so as not to give free rein to your emotions. And here you feel at home. Although my head isn’t working right now. I don’t know what to grab onto. I can’t breathe out at all.

– What about the money?

— I didn’t have a bank card with me. I made a Russian one because it is impossible to pay cash for bus fare.

My husband stayed in Gaza, he has a Palestinian bank card there. But neither banks nor ATMs operate in the enclave. Before I left, he found some kind of ATM in the middle of nowhere, but there was a huge queue that people had been occupied since 6 in the morning. The ATM gave out only 400 shekels – that’s 100 dollars. So I had $200 with me. I spent 1,200 rubles on medicine, put a thousand on a SIM card, and bought some small things. That’s almost $100 spent. So what should we do?

Not only Yulia’s husband, but also her son-in-law remained in Gaza: “The son-in-law did not have a passport, and her husband was a doctor and worked in a hospital. He said that he would wait for the end of hostilities, hoping for something. There has been no contact with him for over a week. I don’t know what to think.”

—Have you not been to Russia for a long time?

— I came here once every two or three years. I couldn’t travel often, my finances didn’t allow it.

— What do you think you should do next?

“We need to look for work to feed my crowd.” The eldest daughter is 20 years old, the youngest is 14. The granddaughter is 11 months old. My father lives in St. Petersburg, he is retired. If there are options for work, offer them.

— Does your youngest daughter speak Russian?

— He speaks more or less, but there are problems with writing. He won’t write an essay on literature on the topic “How I spent my summer.” Many people will have difficulties with school. The children understand Russian, but do not speak it very well. And there are two families where the father somehow received citizenship here, went to live in Gaza, married an Arab woman, and had children. They don’t understand Russian.

— Many doctors came from Gaza and received their education in Russia. Will they have problems finding employment?

– Nobody will find a job quickly. For example, my husband has a Russian diploma. He worked as the head of the neurology department in Gaza for 20 years. But I have never worked in the Russian Federation. If he came here, he would have to undergo re-certification and confirm his diploma. It would have taken at least six months.

—Are you going back to Gaza?

– Never. Although I lived there for 23 years, more than in Russia. But this was the end, the end.