Northern Route. Stories of Ukrainian Refugees Recorded by Volunteers 2022-2024

This book has four anonymous authors. But there are many more of them — volunteers living in Russia, who have been and continue to evacuate civilians from Ukraine under bombings. All these years, while the war has been ongoing, they have been acting: meeting at checkpoints between Russia and Ukraine, bringing people to safe warm apartments where they can breathe out, providing them with suitcases, food, and clothing, and then seeing them off at the borders, from where the refugees begin their journey to Europe. And they listen. They often become the first listeners for those who have experienced terrible things. Yes, it is dangerous. Volunteers risk their lives and freedom. But they cannot act otherwise — they can’t. This book is not written for us, the readers, to once again be horrified and sprinkle salt on wounds. It is necessary to understand how things really are.