Yulia Tatzko
Ukraine, Kyiv
Israel, Bat Yam,
“Have you ever asked yourself, what you would take with you if you had to run away from home?
For me the answer was very clear. Although I had a very small suitcase,
I filled half of it with my sketchbooks. I wanted to fill the other half with my watercolors. It was a very obvious choice, because my art represents me in the best way. This is who I am, and this is what I want to take with me wherever I go. But fear and anxiety paralyzed me.
I said to myself: ‘Yulia, how can you even think about paintings and colors, if you don’t even know if you’ll live another hour?’ I had fifteen minutes to make a decision and, in the end, I took with me only the sketchbooks and I left the watercolors in Kyiv, thinking that the war would not be long, and that we would return soon.
When I arrived in Israel, in the first few days, I felt torn and angry. I realized very quickly that I could not stay at home one more day just staring at the walls. I saw an ad looking for volunteers at an aid center for refugees from Ukraine and decided to volunteer. Because I am a stubborn person and someone who knows how to move things, after ten days they decided to offer me to manage the project. At the same time, while managing the project in Bat Yam, I tried to promote shipments of equipment from Israel to the Ukrainian army, and I felt that I was much more useful in Israel than if I was right now in a shelter in Kyiv.
People may not have seen it, but in Israel, I carried a great deal of pain with me. Art, which had been such a significant part of my life, seemed to vanish. I longed to return to painting, but as a refugee, I couldn’t afford to buy new paints. Art was my primary means of expression and a way to show the world who I am. When it was taken away from me, I felt as though something inside me had broken. That was the moment I realized I needed to fight not just for others, but for myself as well.
After the volunteering project ended, I was offered a position as a teacher at a summer camp in Israel for children from Ukraine and Russia who had suffered trauma from the war. It was challenging for me, as I was still grappling with my own trauma. I knew I had to be strong for these children, to bring them joy and make them feel safe. Surprisingly, caring for them also helped me process my own trauma. In the end, it became a mutual healing journey: I supported the children, and the children supported me.
The urge for art never left me, so I decided to open a new painting studio. I began gathering all the necessary equipment and, with the help of those I had helped in the past, I managed to make it a reality. Today, I have 40 students of all ages who come to me for painting lessons. I’m truly happy to have re-established my studio.
When the war in Israel began, I felt anxious and depressed as it resurfaced all the painful memories from Ukraine. What kept me from spiraling into a deep depression was, as always, art. I invited children to my studio for painting lessons, allowing them to express themselves and momentarily escape the fears of the war. As a refugee for the second time, I understood exactly what they were experiencing and recognized how crucial it was for them to release their fears through art.
In Israel, I was able to help both Ukrainians and Israelis cope with their trauma and fears through the healing power of art. When I ask myself why all of this happened and how did I even ended up in Israel, I quote an Israeli friend of mine who told me, ‘You are here for a very simple reason: God needed you in Israel’.”