Returning home of 17-year-old Myroslava

For more than two years, the girl had been rushing to where her heart was: a free Ukraine. First from occupation, then from deportation. Finally, yesterday she crossed the Ukrainian border. The Ukrainian Child Rights Network and the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine helped 17-year-old Myroslava* to return from Russia.

Sometimes it seems that this case of return is the most difficult, the most incredible, the most interesting. But then the next one comes along, and you think: the degree of impossibility cannot be surpassed, both in terms of obstacles on the way and in terms of a person’s desire to overcome them.

This is what Anastasia Khaliulova, a social work specialist and co-coordinator of the Way Home project, thinks about every time she returns children from deportation or the temporarily uncontrolled territories of Ukraine.

“Today, a small and fragile, but surprisingly brave and big-hearted 17-year-old girl crossed the Ukrainian border. And she did it only because she really wanted to live in Ukraine and be free on her own land,” says Anastasia.

Myroslava was born and raised in the city where active hostilities are currently taking place. In 2014, her parents died, and the girl lived with a guardian. The full-scale war also caught the child in her hometown.

We were hiding in basements. In early April 2022, they decided to move to Kharkiv region with a guardian. But the woman’s pro-Russian views soon made her want to return. And in the summer, she and Myroslava found themselves back in their hometown.

It didn’t matter that their house was half burnt down, that there was no electricity, water or heat. The girl’s official representative wanted to return home no matter what, so she was fine with it. But Myroslava was not going to put up with it.

In the fall of 2023, she, a 16-year-old girl, is sent alone to a large Russian city to study at college in a specialty she never dreamed of. She lives in a dormitory, essentially abandoned to her fate. All the time, Myroslava is looking for someone who will understand her, support her, and help her.

The girl was saved when the Ukrainian Child Rights Network found out about her. Since then, the specialists of the “WAY HOME” project have been in touch with her, including on Myroslava’s return route, which is full of fears and risks.

Myroslava knew that they might be looking for her, but she persisted in traveling to the Ukrainian border because she wanted to be where her heart was.

Four days on the road, extremely hard days, extremely hard nights. Interrogations, checks, and turns at checkpoints. And at the same time, the help of many people.

…Late last night, Anastasia Khaliulova wrote to her colleagues:

“Myroslava crossed the border. And she heard my favorite thing from me: “Welcome home”. In the meantime, the girl can exhale and rest. We are traveling with her on a train that takes her to her loved ones who really love her and are ready to support her in her new endeavors. It is taking her home.”

The case managers of the “WAY HOME” project will take the child under full support – Myroslava will receive comprehensive assistance.

The child’s name has been changed for safety reasons

“The Way Home” is a project aimed at finding and returning children displaced to Russia or to the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine, as well as reuniting families whose children are without parents during the occupation. The project is implemented by the Ukrainian Child Rights Network in partnership with Save the Children in Ukraine.

Our other partners are: Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine, EDUKIDS Charitable Foundation, Media Initiative for Human Rights.

The materials developed within the project do not necessarily reflect the official position of Save the Children.