As of: February 24, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Michaele Heske
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Oxana and Hennadij Ivankov (l.) from Berdjansk see Dorfen as their new home.
They are both doctors.
© Michaele Heske
Two years of war and no end.
In addition to losing their homeland, Oxana and Hennadij Ivankov have now also lost hope of returning to Ukraine soon.
Dorfen - Shortly after the Russian troops invaded, the family fled with their three children, left everything behind and started anew in Dorfen.
Here they found refuge and shelter.
They are working hard on a future – for themselves and their children.
Over a thousand Ukrainians currently live in the Erding district.
Dr.
Oxana Ivankov was at the job center in Erding in the morning, where she was given a job offer.
A practice in Ampfing is looking for a female doctor and she wants to apply.
The language requirements for being able to work as a doctor in Germany are high.
At the Dorfen Center for Integration and Family (DZIF), the cardiologist and her husband, a doctor of pulmonology, are completing the required language courses and have already received their first certificates.
Both Ukrainians now understand every word and speak German more than passably.
They proudly talk about their daughters and son, who enjoy going to school here and have made many friends.
The couple reports about their own acquaintances and friends, including many people from Dorfen, who all welcomed them warmly.
They are grateful, they say.
And they live in safety.
Unlike many of her relatives who remained in Ukraine.
Hennadij Ivankov comes from Berdjansk. Just yesterday he had a long phone call with his older son in Ukraine, says the 55-year-old and automatically falls into his native language when it comes to the emotional topic.
Martin Pavlik, platoon leader and historian of Eastern Europe, is sitting at the table.
The Dorfen native, who has been heavily involved in helping refugees since the outbreak of war, translates: “My son is a surgeon, he works in the traumatology department at the hospital and treats war-wounded people there.
He sees unbelievable suffering, women and men who have been wounded several times and are severely traumatized.”
The region around Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine remains under attack.
People work during the day, sirens scream at night.
“You commute between air raid shelters and everyday life.” Everyone hopes for victory, for the war to end.
On February 24, 2022, the two doctors were at work in the clinic.
“The first bombs fell exactly at 4 a.m.,” remembers Hennadij Ivankov.
“The Russian occupiers advanced quickly into Zaporizhzhia and there was constant shooting in the first few days,” he adds.
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Those who were able to escape left the region.
But many people were too old or sick to sit in the car or bus.
People live there in constant fear of new attacks, including his mother, 86 years old, his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law, as well as colleagues and friends.
Because of the children, the Ivankovs decided to go abroad, to leave the dangerous zone.
They witnessed rockets hitting nearby areas, watched people die, and heard the screams of those buried.
Nobody likes to leave their homeland.
“We have three children for whom we want a normal and calm environment,” says Oxana Ivankov.
Returning home is not an option, says the 43-year-old.
Berdyansk is located in the zone occupied by Russian soldiers.
The psychological strain would be too great.
“We are very grateful,” she emphasizes again.
The Ivankovs draw strength from the weekly peace prayers in Dorfen, to which many locals and Neu-Dorfen residents from Ukraine regularly attend.
“When we talk about villages, we say “with us” – there’s already a certain feeling of home.”
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