BOGOTA, Colombia
Nadiya often finds herself daydreaming of going to places that no longer exist.
As she walks along the crowded streets of Medellin, Colombia, Nadiya, 33, hopes that someday she can return to, her hometown in Ukraine. Nothing remains in Maryinca but dust and destruction after the Russian army targeted the city.
“The town was wiped from the map,” she said. “There are no people, no buildings, no trees, there´s nothing left there.”
Nadiya is one of more than 8 million who have fled across borders to seek safety since Russian President Vladimir Putin began a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, that has killed more than 8,000 civilians.
On Feb. 17, 2022, a week before the war began, Nadiya´s brother, Oleksii, 28, invited his family to dinner and made them watch a film on what to do if war started.
“We didn't believe him; we told him he was being dramatic,” she said.
Days later, when the first Russian bomb dropped, she received a message at 4 a.m. “I told you so,” he texted.
That morning, Nadiya and Oleksii, who is a professional musician, went to their parents' house and he told the family he was going to a conscription center to fight for his country.
“He closed the box with his instruments, took out of his closet his winter clothes and left to fight,” she said.
Nadiya and her family had been forced to leave their home in 2015 when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and launched a war in the Donbass region. They moved to Kyiv where they have since lived. In 2023, they refused to be displaced by war.
Journey to Latin America
Over time, they got used to bombs, sirens and sheltering in basements and their homes. As an interpreter, Nadiya began translating for therapists who came to treat underage rape victims left behind by the war.
Very upset by what she had heard and overwhelmed by the grind of war, she took a job outside her country in August. She rode a bus to Poland and then flew 11,000 miles to Medellin, which has a warm climate year-round.
Most who fled Ukraine arrived in different countries in Europe, including Poland and Germany. Very few have come to Latin America.
A year after the start of a devastating military campaign, Nadiya's story resembles Tetiana’s and Sergio’s, three of the more than 400 Ukrainians living in Colombia.
Tetiana, her husband and her three children were visiting Colombia when war broke out. They had packed two months of clothes. But after a year, they decided to stay in Medellin until things get better back home.
“My mom and mother-in-law live in Ukraine and we worry a lot,” said Tetiana, who has lost four close friends in the war.
Tetiana´s family has learned Spanish and they gradually adapted to Colombian customs, which she said are not very different from Ukrainian ones.
Sergio and his girlfriend were vacationing in the Dominican Republic when Russia surprised them. They stayed for a year on the Caribbean island and decided to leave for Medellin, where they work remotely.
Despite the large cultural and language differences, Tetiana and Sergio said they are happy in Colombia. However, it has not been easy at times.
Tough visa process
The visa process for people arriving from Ukraine is long and bureaucratic, said Olga Peña, a Ukrainian who has been living in Colombia for 12 years. There is no embassy in Bogota, so she has been trying to help those who arrive.
“There is not even a translator who can translate from Ukrainian to Spanish,” she said. “They have to contact a Russian lady to translate the documents for them.”
Tetiana said the visa process has been tough.
“We started our process in July and we are still waiting for our visa. They've told us we have to wait three or four years,” she said.
Colombia does not have a clear refugee protocol and does not provide help to support refugees while they get organized.
“Before the war, Ukraine knew very little about Colombia and Colombia knew very little about Ukraine,” said Pena. “That is beginning to change.”
Nadiya, Tetiana and Sergio are planning to return to Ukraine to see loved ones. Maybe in a month, maybe when they get their visas or maybe when the conflict is over -- whenever that happens.
*Nadiya’s name has been changed to protect her identity
