How a Winnipeg student helped her younger sister escape war in Ukraine
Anastasiia Seleznova says her best friend in Ukraine was crucial link in sister's flight
Anastasiia Seleznova's Facebook page features a video of her younger sister, Yasieniia Manko, 9, competing in a kung-fu tournament in their hometown of Kharkiv, Ukraine.
But even Manko's fighting spirit could not prepare her for the war that was about envelope her hometown.
That's when her sister sprang into action.
The 25-year-old Canadian Mennonite University international student travelled to Poland to meet and pick up her sister, who was huddled in a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, a city being shelled by Russian troops.
Manko says "the most significant memory is when the air fighter was passing by because the walls trembling so much that the windows were broken in pieces," Seleznova said, translating for her sister. "You can feel this internally, your internal body trembling the same with the walls."
"The war knocked on our door Feb. 24. My best friend called me around our 10 p.m. and the first thing I heard was the air alert on that side of the phone and I understand that something wrong." Seleznova said.
No clue
At that time, Seleznova had no clue how she could help her family back in Ukraine. Her mother, who visiting her in Winnipeg, was desperate with her child, husband and parents in the war zone.
"You're helpless, you're desperate, you don't know how to deal with this," she said. "You don't know what you can do from 9,000 kilometres …" Seleznova said.
Shortly after this time Manko was moved into a bomb shelter with her grandparents.
Seleznova turned her desperation into a strategy. She launched the GoFundMe campaign on March 4 with a goal of $8,500 to cover the cost of the trip.
You're helpless, you're desperate, you don't know how to deal with this.- Anastasiia Seleznova
And while the goal was reached by March 12, Seleznova didn't wait around for it. She left with her boyfriend on March 5. The plan was to fly from Winnipeg and meet Manko in Krakow, Poland.
Seleznova's best friend offered to travel from western Ukraine to Kharkiv in the east to pick up Manko, she said. They would then travel to Poland and meet Seleznova in Krakow.
On March 5, Manko managed to get to the railway station in Kharkiv, a hot spot in the war zone.
Timing was critical, Seleznova said. Each day there is a 30-40 minute quiet zone when people can leave their shelters for necessities or travel.
Manko and Seleznova's friend waited in the train station for seven long hours.
The train that took them to Ternopil took 30 hours, a trip that usually takes less than half that. From there, the pair took a 2½-hour bus ride to the Polish border town of Peremyshl, where a stranger offered to drive them for almost four hours to meet Seleznova in Krakow.
Help from a stranger
Seleznova got emotional when she thought of the man who helped her sister and best friend get to Krakow.
"People in Poland are so touched by this situation, and they are really willing to help and you can see this, you can feel this, you can see it on the streets, and it's amazing," she said.
"Throughout my journey I see so many good people who know there is truth, who can see these kids and women in desperate position and they try just to do their best to just be human."
Once the sisters were reunited in Poland, they had to say goodbye to Selenova's best friend, who made the perilous trip to bring Manko to safety.
During the interview Manko played with a blue-and-yellow bracelet.
"My best friend delivered her to Poland and as a goodbye present they both bought for each other the same bracelet with Ukrainian colours just to remember from there, for both of them, how they connected to each other and to the country," Selenova said.
Many refugees hope to return
After getting all of Manko's Canadian Immigration paperwork together in Warsaw, Seleznova, her sister and her boyfriend travelled back to Krakow, then to Munich, Germany, then to Vancouver and, finally, back to Winnipeg.
Seleznova reflected on the Ukrainians who have fled the country.
"Eighty per cent of people don't want to apply for refugee status because they still feel that Ukraine is their home and they still hope that they will return their back," she said. "It makes me feel proud because it's home, it's in the heart. You can't just refuse it."
Seleznova is now back in Winnipeg with her sister and her mother. Her father, her stepfather, her grandparents and her best friend remain in the war-torn country.
Seleznova realizes that although she loves Winnipeg, she is hosting a mother and sister who did not choose to call this place home. She has taken them to Assiniboine Park to see the deer and to the Forks to take pictures.
"I try show them the world outside of war," she said.
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