Disabled Ukrainians Are Fighting For Survival

The first thing that came to her mind when she woke up on February 24 was to get underground. She would be at greater risk in her 4th floor apartment if the Russian army started bombing Kamianske. Herasymova was left without a place to take cover because none of the city's bomb shelters were accessible to wheelchair users.

I knew I couldn't go down there by myself. I need someone to help me, because I can't be myself.

Herasymova was excluded from safety and relief efforts designed for the able-bodied population. The European Disability Forum and Inclusion Europe estimate that there are at least 2.7 million people with disabilities in Ukraine. Many disabled Ukrainians are more vulnerable to Russian attack and are at greater risk of abandonment, violence, and discrimination within their own communities.

Herasymova and her mother bought train tickets to Lviv the next day. The train was packed with people, many standing and without tickets. There were a lot of people, a lot of children who cried.

They crossed into Poland after many hours of travel. Herasymova says she wouldn't have made it to safety without her friend and fellow disabled-rights activist Yuliia Sachuk, who found her accessible accommodation in the country and organized her onward journey.

The possibility of a Russian invasion was being prepared by Sachuk. She understood the importance of coordinating inclusive response strategies to conflict as chair of Fight For Right.

The disabled community would be the first victims in a war. We knew that nobody would come and help us.

Fight For Right tried to coordinate with authorities to help the disabled evacuate before the war. The volunteers of the organization were ready, but they needed help scaling up. There was no help for elderly people, people with disabilities, and children.

The disabled Ukrainians feel abandoned by both the state and humanitarian aid groups. Activists have coordinated with disabled communities abroad at a rapid pace thanks to the strength of pre-existing grassroots networks in the country. Fight For Right has helped 400 people flee the country with the help of 40 volunteers.

As the invasion has progressed, the need for solidarity in disabled communities has become more clear. Negative stereotypes, legal and workplace discrimination, and high levels of institutionalization are some of the reasons why disabled people are excluded from Ukrainian society. The chair of the International Disability Alliance called it a humanitarian crisis because of the war.

A lack of education and understanding of disabilities has made it difficult for disabled Ukrainians to seek help. Oleksandr and his partner are excluded from the government's measures which ban men under the age of 18 from leaving the country. They had to explain their disability to the military after a 16 hour trip to the border between Ukraine and Slovakia.

On our first attempt at the border, a guard got onto our bus and asked, "You are a man, what are you doing here?" The guard said that they were a man and should go back.

After several failed attempts, the couple met a volunteer who took them to the border police to argue for their safe passage. It was so bad that he didn't understand why. I don't know how to kill people. I can help other people with disabilities.

Ukrainians with invisible disabilities are often misunderstanding and discriminated against. After the start of the Russian attack, Raisa and her son were forced to leave Kyiv. They moved to the home town of her son in order to make him feel at home. She can't control how other people react to him.

He entered a checkpoint and was told to stop by the army, but he didn't. They shot. They called the police because they were shooting into the air.

She says that this has happened three times. She told the police to try and tell the wind where to blow.

Many disabled people and their families were forced to make the same decision that Kravchenko had to make. She knows her son wouldn't cope in a refugee camp or in an unfamiliar environment, and she worries she would fall ill if she were to leave the country. She and her son will stay in Ukraine.

They decided to stay put because they couldn't get to bomb shelters when the alarm sounded.

I'm a kind of fatalist and why should I ruin the rest of my life? I don't know how long I will live. We should not rush and be in crowded places.

The lives of disabled Ukrainians and their families have been improved. The VGO Coalition is an alliance of 118 local NGOs with the aim of improving policies and support for the intellectually disabled. She was the leader of the local NGOs in her area and was able to convince the local authorities to establish a day center for adults with intellectual disabilities. It was a hub for their guardians to meet and share support.

The network brought a new generation of people with intellectual disabilities to life. They were able to do meaningful things in the city. They had friends and fell in love with them.

When war broke out, the center had to close. Kravchenko has had to find different ways to communicate with other mothers after being cut off from the group. Some of them have a group chat where they quickly exchange messages and updates. A woman with cerebral palsy and her son were caught in an explosion. The son was wounded. His mother was unable to help him after he died.

The situation is taking its toll on her, but she hasn't stopped trying to help. The VGO Coalition has received donations from Inclusion Europe, which supports people with intellectual disabilities. Many of the mothers don't have cell phones or bank cards. The coalition has distributed the cash through relatives and neighbors, despite the fact that word has still spread through the network.

Fight For Right is driven by the same community of people who it is trying to support. The burden to help others falls disproportionately on disabled volunteers, according to a Polish activist who is helping Fight For Right secure accessible accommodation for disabled refugees in Poland.

Many disabled volunteers feel they can do the work better than anyone else because they have the same experience. She agrees that the ability to relate to others is important.

The evacuees of the disabled will continue to help from afar. The reality of the situation is hard to process.

We continue to live there. We are here but our thoughts and minds are in Ukraine. Although she escaped with her son, her husband and parents are still living in a war zone.

"Of course, I feel safe, but I'm not sure if I'm happy." I don't know. There are many people with disabilities in Ukraine. I can't believe that war is happening in my country in the 21st century. I can still imagine it.

With no idea if or when they will ever be able to return, Sachuk and Herasymova are finding comfort within their disability network abroad, which is stronger now than it ever has been before.

We can be reached at letters@time.com.