Ukraine: Pain, loss, faith, hope and resilience
By Linda Bordoni
Danielle Vella, head of the Jesuit Refugee Service’s International Reconciliation Programme, has just returned from Ukraine, where she accompanied Fr. Christian Marte, an Austrian Jesuit deeply committed to standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
She spoke to Vatican News about their journey across the western and southwestern regions of the country offering a testimony of the profound suffering and resilience of a nation at war.
Marked by loss and separation
Although the areas visited—Lviv, Chernivtsi, and Transcarpathia—are not on the frontline, Danielle says the war’s presence is inescapable.
“These are considered the safest regions,” she notes, “yet they are deeply affected. Bishop Teodor Matsapula, from a Greek Catholic diocese in Transcarpathia, put it plainly: ‘As part of the body of Ukraine, we feel the pain of our families and parishes whose members have died. We have funerals of soldiers in our church almost every day.’”
She tells of how everywhere, she saw memorials: rows of photographs of fallen soldiers, cemeteries awash in yellow and blue, adorned with flowers and personal mementoes—keychains, stuffed toys, images of children and pets. “It feels so strange to memorialize a war that is still going on,” she says.
“All those we met were united in their grief and loss: loss of loved ones - killed or missing in action; loss of those who fled the country; and loss of life as they knew it and of their communities as they knew them”.
Concern for the soldiers is also tangible, she adds,” It just spills over into seemingly normal life, you know, in every conversation that you have, especially of course, amongst their families.”
Other overwhelming feelings were of “sheer gratitude to be alive, and conversely, gratitude for those who had died for their country, for their freedom,” she adds, as well as “Great worry for the uncertainty and the future was another feeling across the board.”
Pervasive fear
Beyond the immense grief, there is a pervasive fear. “Men hesitate to go out,” Danielle notes, “afraid of being conscripted and sent to the front. Among the seven million Ukrainian refugees who have left the country, many have fled to avoid military service. This fear has transformed daily life, making even basic tasks, like finding workers, difficult.”
The separation of families is another profound wound. The JRS official recalls her meeting with Marta, a Caritas worker who poignantly describes reality: “It’s like a rocket exploded in every household.” Husbands, fathers, and sons have left—either to fight, to flee or to find safety elsewhere—while women remain, caring for children and the elderly, burdened by uncertainty.
“Again,” Danielle continues, “something a young man said really stays with me. He said ‘our lives are divided into before and after; before 24 February 2022 and afterwards. Everything changed on that horrible day. And we don't even know how to live now anymore’.”
3.7 million internally displaced persons
And then of course, local communities in the “safe” regions are also impacted by the arrival of people from the east of Ukraine where the war is raging.
“There are three point seven million internally displaced people in Ukraine,” Danielle says noting that in some regions, like Transcarpathia “one in every four people is displaced,” a staggering number that puts “the region at par with countries hosting the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, like Lebanon, for example. And, of course, then, there are the tremendous needs of these internally displaced people themselves.”
Role of the Church
Amid the devastation, the Church stands as a pillar of support, providing material, psychological, and spiritual aid. “The Church is offering people a strong sense of community, a safe space to pray, to grieve, to rebuild,” Danielle Vella says.
The Jesuits, she explains, have launched initiatives like the ‘Space of Hope’ centre, where the mothers, wives, and children of soldiers receive psychological support. Caritas and JRS operate shelters, soup kitchens, childcare services, and educational programs.
“A JRS shelter in Lviv is a haven for displaced grandmothers, mothers, and children,” Vella says, “They are given time to breathe for as much time as they need” to regain some semblance of stability.
“There are soup kitchens childcare, psychosocial activities for children, education… so much is going on,” she says.
Donor fatigue
Yet even as these efforts continue, concern is growing over diminishing international aid.
“Caritas and JRS representatives warn that donor fatigue is setting in, despite the continuing needs,” Vella explains.
“The humanitarian crisis will not end when the war does; in fact, it may become even more acute.”
Hope amid despair
Despite the darkness, signs of hope persist. “The people themselves are the greatest source of hope,” Vella observes. “Their faith—faith in God, in each other, and the future—keeps them going.”
She talks with admiration of the unwavering dedication of Fr. Mykhajlo, a Ukrainian Jesuit who “crisscrosses the country” to offer retreats and pastoral care.
“His most formidable source of hope is his relationship with Jesus, without which, he says, he would never have been able to go to the front, but he does, and he finds that the hope gives him the strength,” she says.
Hope is also found in people like Ludmilla, a mother Vella met at a JRS shelter. “She lost her home to the war after losing her husband to cancer at just 33 years old.” One of her sons needs multiple surgeries, she adds, yet she remains resolute. “‘When someone depends on you, you don’t just give up,’ she told me. ‘As long as you are alive, it is not the end.’”
Cry for solidarity
As the war drags on, the people of Ukraine long for peace—a peace that is just and enduring. “They hope that Ukraine will be able to rebuild, that it will not have to give so many of its resources away, and they hope so much that people will return, that refugees will come back,” Danielle says.
But they also know they cannot do it alone. “They look to the world to hope with them,” she affirms. “To stand in solidarity. This external support is so very important!”
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