“We were forced to leave Kharkiv in any possible way”

It’s been nearly seven months of this unjust war. Seven months of r*ssian aggression. Thousands of LGBTIQ* refugees from Ukraine, tens of thousands of internally displaced queer people.

Most are trying to build a new life and sincerely thank all the German people for a new chance, a new start! They still need our help, but not everyone wants to live only on charity. This is the story of Kaya from Kharkiv.

A trans* woman from Kharkiv

My name is Kaya, I’m a transgender woman from Kharkiv, I’m 28. I live with my mother. It so happened that my mom had a fracture before the start of the war, but now she is better. I worked as a tram driver in Kharkiv, then transferred to Kyiv, to “Darnytsia TRED”. Having my usual free time I was engaged in music and singing. I attended KharkivPride and had lots of communications on interests, those were great times.

On the day the war started we were supposed to get help transporting my mom to the hospital, but the car never arrived. We were forced to leave Kharkiv in any possible way since Saltivka is exactly our district. We were asked for 4,000 UAH (approx 106 EUR) for a taxi to the station, instead of the usual 200.

The worst thing was that my mother could not get up, I am grateful to the caring people who helped. Next was the evacuation train, big thanks to the Ukrainian Railway for their overtime work! We took only a bag with us.

We realized: We had nothing with us at all

Now we are in a relatively safe place, in the Kyiv region. As soon as we moved, we realized that we had nothing with us, and we needed help, since there was no work, no money – only a small plot of land and a small hut, water in a well and all this needs to be put in order.

We needed painkillers, then syringes, ointment, tests, and X-ray. The need for basic products was very urgent, as well as soap, shampoo and personal hygiene items. I learned about the NGO “You are not alone” from the forum of mutual assistance for LGBTIQ* people.

We have established our homestead

I contacted Oleksandra who considered our situation very responsibly and carefully. The NGO “You are not alone” is not a one-time help, unlike other funds! It is your team that tries not just to help and forget, but to continue caring for people.

Over the past four months, we have received several remittances. We were able to cover basic needs and we have already established our homestead, now making conservation. We would really like to treat your team to something we have grown ourselves, as a sign of gratitude.

You can help here:

Individual help

Munich Kyiv Queer has its own fundraising campaign via www.paypal.me/ConradBreyer to support people in Ukraine with whom we have worked closely over the past ten years. They are our friends and partners. We know them personally and we miss them. We can help fast, directly and unbureaucratically.

Help for LGBTIQ* organisations

To support LGBTIQ* in Ukraine we have helped set up the AllianceQueer Emergency Aid Ukraine, in which around 40 German LGBTIQ* Human Rights organisations are involved. All these groups have access to very different Human Rights organisations in Ukraine and use funds for urgently needed care or evacuation of queer people. Every donation helps and is used 100 percent to benefit queer people in Ukraine. Donate here

Questions? www.MunichKyivQueer.org/donations