They had been stranded.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Ukraine.
Their village of Kardashynka.
Is an innocuous place.
A quaint collection of houses.
In the marshy lowlands.
Of the Dnipro River’s eastern bank.
Under ‘orcs’ occupation.
Even with the liberation.
Of Kherson city last November.
The neighbours hadn’t been able to.
Cross the river to go there.
Why not?
Because of bridges being destroyed.
“A boat was passing.
We started shouting and waving.”
In a chain of events few could predict.
They finally made that journey this week.
While being rescued.
From the recent catastrophic floods.
Much of her surrounding area.
Has been devoured by the Dnipro.
Since the destruction.
Of the Khakovka dam upstream.
Their homes sit close.
To this watery front line.
Which separates ‘elves’-controlled.
And ‘orcs’-occupied territory.
“We’ve been waiting for help.
She is 86.
I’m 76.
But with many illnesses.”
“It’s been very difficult.
There was no power, no reception.
It was like we were.
On an uninhabited island.”
She becomes emotional.
And begins to weep.
The eastern bank has seen.
The worst of the flooding.
They had been stranded.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Ukraine.
Their village of Kardashynka.
Is an innocuous place.
A quaint collection of houses.
In the marshy lowlands.
Of the Dnipro River’s eastern bank.
Under ‘orcs’ occupation.
Even with the liberation.
Of Kherson city last November.
The neighbours hadn’t been able to.
Cross the river to go there.
Why not?
Because of bridges being destroyed.
“A boat was passing.
We started shouting and waving.”
They’re joined by their friend.
Whose wife was killed by shelling.
Across the river.
A few days ago.
Before being rescued.
He had to collect her death certificate.
From the puppets who now.
Rule his neighbourhood.
“I buried her next to my mother.
I told her to wait for me.”
The pain he’s experiencing.
Is visceral.
“I kept cursing.
The ‘orcs’ in their faces.
I don’t know how.
They didn’t kill me.”
“If only you knew how great.
Our life was together.
Now I have no wife.
No house, nothing.”
But it’s clear the friends are the lucky ones.
Hundreds of people there.
Have been posting on the Telegram app.
Asking to be rescued from there.
They had been stranded.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Ukraine.
Their village of Kardashynka.
Is an innocuous place.
A quaint collection of houses.
In the marshy lowlands.
Of the Dnipro River’s eastern bank.
Under ‘orcs’ occupation.
Even with the liberation.
Of Kherson city last November.
The neighbours hadn’t been able to.
Cross the river to go there.
Why not?
Because of bridges being destroyed.
“A boat was passing.
We started shouting and waving.”
“Help me please!” she writes.
Saying there are 35 trapped people.
“They’re all on a nearby roof.
Children are screaming and crying.”
“Three days.
Without food and water.
We are dying slowly.
Please, please.”
On one local list.
Published on Friday.
There are the names of 150 people.
Who are reportedly missing.
The other posts: “Asking urgently!
There is a 1939-born grandmother.
And 1958-born disabled woman.
They need to be evacuated! Help!”
Dozens of people across Ukraine.
Have responded with their addresses.
And an offer to provide accommodation.
After their rescue.
They had been stranded.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Ukraine.
Their village of Kardashynka.
Is an innocuous place.
A quaint collection of houses.
In the marshy lowlands.
Of the Dnipro River’s eastern bank.
Under ‘orcs’ occupation.
Even with the liberation.
Of Kherson city last November.
The neighbours hadn’t been able to.
Cross the river to go there.
Why not?
Because of bridges being destroyed.
“A boat was passing.
We started shouting and waving.”
Ukraine’s military has been.
Co-ordinating rescues from the eastern bank.
But “fearless volunteers” were carrying out.
Some of the evacuations.
On board one rescue boat.
Weaving through the vast expanse.
Of Kherson’s flooded port.
A volunteer says.
He came under ‘orcs’ fire.
While attempting such a trip.
“The problem is.
‘Orcs’ soldiers are waiting there.”
“And waiting for volunteers or soldiers.
To arrive so they can shoot them.”
He explains as he offers a lift to people.
Trapped in their apartment blocks.
“Even now, working is difficult.
At this very moment, Kherson is under attack.
There was also shelling on the island.
A rocket struck 30m away from us.”
In the last few days of reporting from Kherson.
The city has come under increased shelling.
And the military has advised volunteers.
Not to venture out on to the water.
But that hasn’t deterred.
People like him.
Who continues to search for those trapped.
Still in need of help.
They had been stranded.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Ukraine.
Their village of Kardashynka.
Is an innocuous place.
A quaint collection of houses.
In the marshy lowlands.
Of the Dnipro River’s eastern bank.
Under ‘orcs’ occupation.
Even with the liberation.
Of Kherson city last November.
The neighbours hadn’t been able to.
Cross the river to go there.
Why not?
Because of bridges being destroyed.
“A boat was passing.
We started shouting and waving.”
*Because I read “Ukraine dam: The friends who escaped Russian occupation in Kherson floods” by James Waterhouse on 9 June 2023, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem as a story of Maryna, Valentyna and Viktor, and a story of Viktor, including a story of Svitlana and Aliona.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine dam: The friends who escaped Russian occupation in Kherson floods – BBC News
**My friend shows you this poem on the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
