All guarantors of stability. A family from Ukraine found true happiness in the Orsha district

There is no better place on earth than one's home. But what if there is war at home? Then everything simple becomes complicated, all former values and dreams recede behind the point of fear, and only one thing remains – faith in a peaceful tomorrow, justice, and humanity. It is this faith, along with hope for a better life, that leads thousands of Ukrainian families to Belarus. Here they find not only help and support, but also shelter, work, and decent wages. In other words, all those guarantees of stability that they have lost through no fault of their own.

One such family found refuge and a better life, and true happiness, in the agro-town of Zubovo, Orsha district.

Oksana and Oleksiy Yashchenko are originally from the Donetsk region. They grew up and lived in neighboring villages 70 kilometers from Kramatorsk: she in Novodonetsk, he in Oleksandrovsk. Fate brought the young people together just two years ago, on the eve of the military actions in Ukraine. After graduating from a banking institute in Kharkiv and an unhappy first marriage with her daughter, the girl returned to her hometown and got a job at an agricultural lyceum. There she met Oleksiy, an engineer by education, a teacher of the discipline "Agricultural Machinery."

Common interests and the budding sincere feelings put all the dots over the "i" in their relationship – the young people decided to live together. The budget did not allow them to buy or rent housing (in Belarusian rubles, their salaries were 2 million rubles), so they settled with their parents and began to save money for a wedding. However, it was not destined to happen on time – in April 2014, columns of heavy equipment and soldiers began to move through Novodonetsk, and a total mobilization of the male population began. Enterprises and mines started closing, leaving hundreds of people without work and means of subsistence. It was then that confusion, fear for the future, and rejection of the present settled in their souls.

The decision to leave matured after relatives living in Belarus responded and offered help and support. Alexey was the first to settle in the Vitebsk region. He will not forget those agonizing October days of last year when he left his bride and homeland with his meager belongings, and on the way through Ukraine, he flinched at every station: what if they took him off the train... However, despite all his fears, he safely reached Orsha. Here he was warmly and cordially welcomed, assured that everything would be fine. He was advised to find employment at the agro-combine "Yubileiny" – the farm always provided comprehensive support to competent specialists.

Less than a week after moving, Alexey was already working as a tractor driver-machinist. What can we say: understanding technology like no one else, being a responsible and decent person, he proved himself in the best possible way from the very first days. Interestingly, the former teacher and engineer liked his new profession so much that he now thinks about no other. What was the joy of the new employee of "Yubileiny" when the management of the agro-combine allocated him a solid, spacious house in the agro-town of Zubovo and gave him his first salary – unprecedented compared to his previous Ukrainian one!

Perhaps only then did he believe that everything would really be fine and began to count the days until the arrival of his loved ones. He, like a true master of his home, could now bring them to a good house and provide for their future. However, after moving to Belarus, Oksana faced a problem: a bride is a bride, but there is no stamp in the passport with the surname Yashchenko... Where to register? How to find employment? The issues were resolved within three months – they submitted an application directly to the Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus, where they sealed their family union with signatures in one of the offices of the diplomatic mission.

Then, as they say in fairy tales: they lived happily ever after... And the whole community helped the family to acquire wealth. Villagers brought dishes and belongings, and the management of "Yubileiny" completely furnished the house with furniture. Now the couple earns a decent living on their own. "If in Novodonetsk, for example, we had to save money for a refrigerator for a year, here we bought it within two months," says Oksana. "Here we can afford many things that we couldn't even imagine before, we can plan for the future without worrying about our family! After all, this is stability and confidence in the future."

Their eleven-year-old daughter, Karolina, was enrolled in the sixth grade of the secondary school in the urban settlement of Kopys (in the Zubovo educational institution, subjects are taught in Belarusian). Oksana was offered a job there as a secretary, which she gladly accepted.

Now Karolina is studying in the 7th grade, she is engaged in vocals and music, and she draws. Like her parents, she is truly happy. She has everything she could only dream of before: a strong, friendly family, prosperity, a peaceful sky overhead, and many new friends. The girl excels in her studies and makes every effort to achieve her goal – to enter medical university and become a doctor. When talking about the Yashchenko family, one is tempted to quote the lines from Lidiya Zhuravleva's poem: "There can't be too much happiness, there can't be too little happiness. Apparently, understanding this, the gods measure it precisely: it fits everyone, but not everyone can handle it. If you see a mountain of happiness – don't be afraid of it, do you hear?" And they were not afraid. It is in the country that has become their second homeland that Oksana and Alexey decided to continue the Yashchenko lineage. At the beginning of the new 2016, there will be one more baby in Zubovo, and therefore, a new citizen of the Republic of Belarus.

Life goes on... And for the Yashchenko family, in essence, it has just begun.

Olga Lebedeva, "Vitebskiye vesti". Photos by the author.