Fight or Flight: Ukrainian Men's Dilemma
Men in Ukraine face a difficult dilemma
Ever since war broke out in Ukraine, men have been mobilised to fight for their country. Many Ukrainian women have had to leave alone with their children, and the men who have escaped are forced to live with guilt.
Men with three or more young children are permitted to leave Ukraine. Oleg, who was allowed to leave because of this exception, feels constantly guilty. ‘My conscience is nagging me every day because I left my country. I think I should go back, but my family keeps me here’, he says. Natacha’s husband is back in Kyiv while she was able to flee to Switzerland; ‘it isn’t fair to make families suffer, to make children live without their parent’, she says. Some men have already returned to help the fight; Lena’s husband was allowed to leave with her, but decided to return to Ukraine. ‘I wanted us to stay together, but I respect his decision and I accept it’, she says.
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