Oksana Dovzhenko

“I was born to be free!” — this is how 60-year-old Oksana Dovzhenko describes herself. Her life journey has been challenging, full of courage and struggle. She has learned to stay strong in the most difficult moments, while maintaining her humanity, which draws others to her.

Oksana Dovzhenko lived in Crimea for 25 years and dedicated the same amount of time to her life’s work — massage therapy. The war knocked on her door twice. First, in 2014, when the aggressor country began the annexation of the peninsula. Second, in 2022, in the town of Beryslav, in the Kherson region.

In Beryslav, Oksana, together with her mother, had to live under occupation for 8 months. She says there was no fear because she is not the kind of woman who remains silent or scared. She kept a record of all the traitors, and the Ukrainian coat of arms still stands as the wallpaper on her smartphone. For her pro-Ukrainian stance, Oksana spent two days in a dungeon, hearing the torture of men and, sadly, enduring her own suffering at the hands of the occupiers.

“Patriots like me were thrown into a pit. I spent two days with a 26-year-old guy. I couldn’t see his face because they covered our eyes with tape and put handcuffs on us. They poured water on us, didn’t give us food, water, or sleep. We could only sit or stand. I will never forget that place. The only thing that calmed me was prayer,” recalls the resident of the shelter.

With tears in her eyes, the woman recalls those terrifying moments. She is convinced that she survived thanks to her sincere prayers to the Lord. However, when the city began to be shelled more frequently, and neighboring houses were hit, she had no choice but to leave her home. Unfortunately, there is no home to return to now.

At that point, Ms. Oksana reached out to volunteers who helped her evacuate to the shelter in the village of Voynyliv. She admits that she feels like a fish in water in the western part of the country, as it is here that she began speaking Ukrainian and regrets not having done so earlier. The workers at the shelter have become like family to her.

“I am grateful to all the staff for their kind and open hearts. They empathize with us, they feel each story deeply, and they provide the warmth and support that most of us so desperately need. I will miss this place, but I promise to visit when the war is over. And that will be very soon, you’ll see!” — Ms. Oksana smiles.

In just a few days, the woman will move to the Mykolaiv region, where her husband’s relatives live. She says she’s moving closer to home. She hopes that Crimea will soon be liberated, and she will be able to return to the place that is so dear to her heart.