No Safe Corridor: Family holding in Kyiv

Originally published in the Missourian on Apr. 4, 2022

Olha Kholod spent a lot of time in the summers growing up in the Sumy region of northeast Ukraine.

“We have a garden, a house just like one floor … you can just run out of the yard, and there were a lot of kids too,” Kholod said. “It’s very quiet, nice, and very clean air, very green because it’s northern Ukraine, it’s like a forest.”

It’s very likely all been destroyed by Russian troops, she said, because it was in their path.

When the war started, Kholod saw footage on television and recognized the central square in Kyiv. She instantly reached for her phone.

“I think for a couple of hours I was like texting them (her family) and nobody replied. So I decided just to make an international call,” Kholod said.

Her sister picked up the phone.

“She said, ‘I’m in a shelter, like I’m underground.’ And I was just, like, in tears because I cannot comprehend that in ... (the) 21st century, my sister should be underground sheltering in Europe.”

Kholod can’t shake that feeling that she is somehow in danger, because her family can be at any time.

Behind Kholod’s journey to the U.S.Kholod originally came to MU in 2015 through the Fulbright Scholar Program, a competitive cultural exchange program designed to improve intercultural relations, diplomacy and intercultural competence between American people and those from around the world.

Before that, she had never left home.

She applied for the master’s degree program in science and pathology and is now working on her Ph.D. She previously graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a major in genetics.

In high school, Kholod was involved in a scientific competition and made it to the national level, working with plant genetics.

The family situation back homeKholod’s older sister and parents live on the same street in Kyiv. Her dad suffered multiple strokes about five years ago.

He can’t walk. He can’t see. He’s not transportable. She’s not entirely sure he understands what is happening outside.

Her mother is a kindergarten teacher, and since the school is closed, she is taking care of him 24/7. Kholod’s older sister is working for a telecom company as a coordinator in the billing department. She is considered essential and continues to work from her apartment, helping people be able to communicate still if they run out of money, or if the infrastructure is damaged.

“I think for now she works like seven days per week. Usually, she had like a job from nine to six, but now she may have calls later if something is happening that needs her attention,” said Kholod.

Her family doesn’t plan on leaving Kyiv. There simply isn’t a green corridor safe enough for people with disabilities such as her father.

“I mean, my sister can run or like, you know, escape something, but he needs extra people to carry him. So that’s, for now, it’s not an option for my family, so, they will stay there,” she said.

According to Kholod, Ukraine is not disability accessible like the U.S. There are no ramps for wheelchairs everywhere, like on the MU campus, or buttons pushed to open doors. If there were a need to shelter, her mother would have to leave her father in the apartment, which is why she has so far denied going into the shelters.

“It’s a very tough question, because it’s a matter of, like, (a) life-death situation ... If something happens then both of them will end up there, but if my mom is (sheltered), at least she has a chance of like survival,” Kholod said.

Work in activism for UkraineThere are a lot of ways someone from Missouri can contribute to helping people in Ukraine. A person can donate to funds organized by the government, large organizations, and to smaller funds as well.

Kholod’s friends and acquaintances from Ukraine are raising money for a variety of things, like collecting $2,000 for first grade kids and buying things for them with that money.

“I donate even to the smallest cause, I just trust these people, I know what they will do with the money,” she said.

Kholod joins the rallies on Broadway on Wednesdays each week from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. She also distributes QR codes for some charity organizations on campus, and keeps in touch with the other Ukrainian students.

“We went for a meeting with Missouri senate representatives and talked about how we can promote, at least this, like, Fulbright organization ... can raise money for Ukraine,” she said.

Outside the public library in Columbia wave Ukranian flags. Kholod sees them every time she passes by on her evening walks.

“That’s kind of encouraging for me because I can see that people care,” she said. “And it’s probably not Ukrainians. It’s like people who have houses, probably they’re Americans, you know? So, yeah, it’s really, really encouraging.”

You always feel like you want to do more, Kholod said. The first few rallies held on Broadway had a lot of people, but now she sees fewer and fewer coming.

“I just wanna be a person that is there every Wednesday, just to make sure people know and remember what’s going on in the world,” she said.