Mariana Varshavsky

Ukraine, Kyiv
Israel, Haifa

“The war began at five in the morning, and I still remember the blaring alarms and the explosions echoing throughout Kyiv. Anyone who hasn’t experienced war can’t truly understand the pervasive fear that accompanies it. The greatest fear comes from not having control over your life and not knowing what might happen to you and your loved ones. At any moment, a missile or shell could explode near you and kill you instantly. This is exactly what happened to my good friend, who was killed by a Russian tank shell fired at her house.

At the beginning of the war, my son, who lives in Israel, called us urgently, pleading for us to escape from Kyiv and come to Israel. Since my husband was still of draft age, he had to stay behind.
I remember we didn’t even have time for a proper goodbye. everything happened so quickly. When I reached the train station, I simply jumped onto the first train that departed from the platform. I didn’t care where it was going, as long as it was heading west, away from the war.

The trains were full of women, children, and elderly people who, like me, were trying to escape the Russian shelling. However, the shelling continued throughout the journey. I was very afraid that one of the bombs would hit the train because if my railcar was bombed, I would die, and my family would never know what happened to me. Luckily, I managed to reach the border area with Poland by train and from there, travel to Israel.

Looking back, those were the scariest days of my life.

I knew that Israel was surrounded by enemies So I wasn’t surprise that I found myself in a war after arriving here. The war in Ukraine taught me that I need to think about my own safety and not to wait that someone will take care of it. Only an active person can survive a war. If Haifa is bombarded, I’m prepared. I’ve cleaned the shelter, packed an emergency backpack, and stocked up on water and dry food. It’s also important to speak with your neighbors and meet them in person so if a war will break, we could help one another in time of need. That’s what collective security is all about.

I’m a psychologist by profession but unfortunately because of Israeli regulation I’m still not recognize as one. I’m a person that will always take the initiative so I went back to school and I’ve just graduated from the ‘Adler Institute’ as psychotherapist. I want to work with children and adults and help them as much as I can.

I love sailing, so I also work as a sailing coach in Haifa and I’m happy to say that I’m very successful. I am already teaching my second team of children. My previous students are now the backbone of the children’s sailing team of Haifa.

One of the things I love about Israel is that people here know how to enjoy the simple things of everyday life. It seems to me that despite the constant danger, people in Israel live happier than in Ukraine right now.”

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