Second Homeland: Ukrainian War: Tragedy in the Rural Town of Meriafa, East of Kharkiv

I moved from Japan to Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2018. After that, the months passed, and it was around September 2021, I don’t remember the date. During the war, we lived our lives as usual. At around 3am on the 15th, the air raid siren sounded again. Unable to sleep, my wife and I hid in the detached barn as usual. Suddenly, it became bright all around, and the moment we saw Russian missiles flying towards our house, my wife and I prepared ourselves for death. In an instant, the missiles pierced the house from top to bottom. Our house was destroyed to pieces. Tears filled my eyes. I saw the dead bodies of dogs, cats, and small birds. It was an event that went beyond sadness. My wife and I escaped to the barn and were saved. The barn in Ukraine served as an air raid shelter because it was dug deep. The animals were blown away by the missile blast and died. I can still picture that scene in my mind. Even now I regret that I couldn’t take the animals to the bomb shelter. I was able to evacuate to Japan. If I had stayed in Kharkov, Ukraine, I would have died someday! Thinking this, I abandoned my wife, who is still in Kharkov, Ukraine with our daughter, grandchild, and son. I don’t know where they are now. I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with PTSD, and I’ve been there ever since. It’s something that no Japanese person could have experienced! I did. Even now, 26 of us remain in Ukraine. We experienced war in the 21st century.