Took this snapshot of a wild raspberry (blackberry?) bush growing near our apartment, on my way to meet Pasha the day before yesterday. His mom Natasha had called me and asked me to meet him at the bus stop and help him find a new volleyball practice in Vienna. This after the Ukrainian coach called me three times while I was trying to drive 1000km back from Croatia because she and Pasha couldn’t find each other on Telegram. In the end — it was all worth it. An excellent program has been set up this summer by the Austrian integration fund offering free of charge twice weekly sports practice in a variety of team ball sports for Ukrainian teens with Ukrainian coaches using university training facilities.
Pasha took a few minutes to find McDonalds, our meeting point, but he did, and wanted to pay for his own lunch. I didn’t let him. We had a good chat. He was away at a camp for five days. It wasn’t very fun; the food was bad. He is bored. He was studying German on his own but the sort of lost his motivation. I drove him to practice, showing him the way home. He would have to take the u-bahn and then a bus to their town one hour outside of Vienna: the commuter train is shut down for the summer for railway repairs. He read his app over and over which gave him a route plan, and asked me several times to assure him he understood the way home. I pointed out landmarks “turn right at the pizza shop”, assuring him he would manage. Thanks to the donated used phones, Pasha now has an Austrian SIM card and working internet when he is in out and about.
We arrived at the sports center to hear Russian and Ukrainian out front. I chatted with a mom of teen girls who had also come in from a village in Lower Austria just for the occasion. A stream of kids started arriving, and a very happy, excited coach. That evening I asked Pasha how it went — he wrote back “great” which is a lot for him — and he made it home on his own with no trouble. He will go back again today.
Yesterday morning, I went out to the 11th district again, to deliver a donated bag of dog and cat treats and a little cash to the lovely Margarita, who is in a wheelchair taking care of a German Shepard and two cats while her mother recovers from a fall in hospital. Margarita has a giant smile on her face and is perhaps the most upbeat person I have met in a long time. Unfortunately, her mom caught a fever in hospital, so it’s not clear yet when she will be released. This is Graf below with his new toy. He is a very good boy, but was used to guarding a village home in Zaporozhye, and has not yet learned the rules of being a city dog. Margarita says he went from being outside all the time to being inside all the time and it is not an easy adjustment. The family stayed with friends for several months in western Ukraine before coming to Austria.
There I also met N, who arrived months ago from occupied Kherson, but unfortunately the “free” apartment she and her adult daughter were staying in somewhere in Austria was then suddenly no longer available, so she is now in the 11th district dorm and thoroughly confused as to what the next steps will be. She cries in between sentences. I listen and nod, and try to provide some kind of useful advice “when you have a hospital appointment ask me we will try to find you a translator ahead of time, you know they need a PCR test to enter some hospitals so you can’t do it last minute”. I explain how the supermarket gift card works, and say, you can always text me with questions — I may not know the answer, but I can try and find out. I excuse myself, pointing behind N, and explain Violet (name changed) is waiting for me.
Violet is 16 and in Austria with her 20 year old sister who just recently began a job at McDonalds. Her sister hasn’t gotten her first paycheck yet, and they aren’t really sure what to do because the bank account is opened, but the bank card never arrived. Violet and her sister arrived a few months ago from a village in Chernihiv oblast. They were initially travelling with their mother and godmother, but the older woman only made it as far as Lviv before turning around and heading home, explaining they could not leave behind their vegetable patches. Violet’s mom works as a nurse in a pensioner’s home, commuting 50 kilometres to work in one direction. She continues to go to work, even as there are incoming attacks from the north.
I asked Violet for coffee as she had texted me when I was on holiday, and I was really concerned, a sixteen year old, essentially alone with a sibling? Another Russian-speaker kindly met with Violet and gave her a Hofer card, taking her for ice cream, in my absence. Violet smiles and talks softly, telling me about the friends she and her sister have made and how the five girls explore Vienna together, going to Seestadt for swimming trips, etc. She registered with AMS but nothing came of it yet. She would also like to work, like her sister. She finished 11 grades in Ukraine and says that is enough school for her. There is talk of a course in September to learn about the restaurant and hotel business. She is hopeful there might be a job at the end of that. For now, she attends morning German courses, but the teacher got sick. Classes are cancelled until next week. We talk about life in a big city, about being aware for pickpockets and unwanted attention from the opposite sex. I say, “just like in a big city like Kyiv, you need to watch your phone etc”. Violet says she was only ever in Kyiv once, just travelling through. I nod. We finish our coffees and I slip Violet quietly €50 cash as we walk back. For your upcoming birthday, to do something with your friends. You can call me with any questions, I say. She smiles and thanks me.
I drive to my next destination thinking about the Ukrainian teenagers. How in awe of them all I am.
In the 3rd district, I deliver two more Hofer cards: one to an elderly couple, the wife is in a wheelchair, just had surgery, her leg hurts, she is in pain, but the doctor gave a prescription. A middle aged woman who lives with a roommate and is very grateful.
I hear from the mother and son who were living in the “rat” place near the Czech border and have now moved to better housing in Steiermark thanks to another Russian-speaker who works on housing and an Austrian who volunteered his time and his vehicle to drive the four Ukrainians halfway across Austria for their move. The mom wrote me sweetly “he even took us to McDonalds along the way!”. I have offered gas money; don’t have a bank account number yet. I am so in awe of people who so willingly drop everything to help others for a day.
Mom sends me a photo from Steiermark and asks for help to find a bike and with some bureaucratic questions. As usual in Austria, it will be tricky to tell Steiermark that she has now moved from Lower Austria, and mom is freaking out that she may be left without the social payments for a period of time. I give her the contact of a kind Austrian who has volunteered to help with German-language tasks, explaining he may be able to help with contacting the relevant authorities. A local reaches out with a bike — it is too big but he promised to ask him mom to ask someone in the local cycling club — another example of the power of the internet. I love it so much for these purposes. Almost makes up for the assholes who create fake accounts trying to be me and raise money (that also happened yesterday — blocked and reported).
Two school stories. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an offer of a place for Pasha in what I thought would be a very good pre-professional agricultural school near where he lives. I explained to him and mom it might be a really good option, as he would be the only foreigner, German would come fast, he would learn a trade. They turned it down. And that is where as a volunteer, you have to say to yourself: I presented the information as best I could, but ultimately it is the family’s decision, even if I personally do not think it was the best choice. I explained this to the school director, who also said it is probably the wrong decision, and I agreed, but said it isn’t ours to make, and thanked ever so much for the opportunity. No hard feelings, important lesson for all of us. Helping people doesn’t mean pushing them to make decisions they wouldn’t otherwise make, imho.
The second story is just incredible. Do read the thread below or web version here about Amalia and her family, whom I met several weeks ago for the first time.
In just a few hours, it was all sorted. Amalia’s mom sent me her bank account details and a very generous donor, who has donated thousands already towards Hofer cards, sent the family a payment for the entire school year, only after Amalia’s mother checked with a local charity to make sure this would be acceptable, that by receiving such a sum on their account they would not face any risk of losing their social payments. The thing is when I offer to ask for help online, I always tell the Ukrainians: I never know if we will solve a problem ahead of time. Sometimes no one wants to help in a particular situation, sometimes a half dozen people step forward. But to raise €1,800 for tuition in a matter of hours, that was a lovely, lovely feeling. So mega grateful. And all because one summer evening I happened to be handing out Hofer cards in person in front of the dorm her grandparents live in, and Amalia happened to be there for a sleepover.
I also received an update about the Ukrainian with the dog with two legs, chinchilla, and three cats. The family moved into an apartment in the 23rd district on Monday. Miracles do happen!
This also happened last night, sorry to end on a negative note, but this too is our lived reality at the moment:
Woke up to very good news — a full Russian pdf translation of step by step line by line how to apply for Familienbeihilfe (child support money). So today I am going to try and tackle what I have been putting off for months because as much as I can text with 100 people at once, I hate technology — to create a giant Telegram group with all of my contacts here in Austria, so I can share info more easily.
I have money today to buy 2 Hofer cards, will do that too and get them in the post. My own little waiting list is meanwhile quite long. I am still not done transcribing all the addresses from all the screenshots I made while on holiday. Every little helps. Perhaps you tell a friend or two?
I know I sound like a stuck record, and for that I am sorry. I try to share the stories so there is a human connection, and of course the wonderful grocery photos. There were many yesterday!
Thank you for reading and for your continued support! Tomorrow I will try and make it more news and big picture. For now, I recommend this Subtack on several aspects of Russia’s war economy, and this Bloomberg opinion piece by Javier Blas on the switch in Germany from gas to diesel.