Inna's story: A year of the war in Ukraine

Inna Chernychuk arrived in Switzerland and settled in Nyon as a result of the war breaking. One year later she looks back with both sadness and gratitude. Read her story below. Thank you Inna for sharing this with us. "One year. A year of not just challenge, year of life and death. A year of love and hate, and all possible human emotions for each Ukrainian... A year of the war, horrible, terrible war in my Ukraine. 24th of February 2022. I remember every hour of that day…yes there were a lot of conversations of possible invasion, but still I believed, as did many other Ukrainians, that war is not a possible solution in the 21st century. That morning, my feelings were frozen. My phone turned red with calls and messages. For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I was trying to convince myself that it would stop very soon, but it didn’t… As an adult I had to make an adult decision, and my first task was the security of my family, my kids. This year has taught me a lot: to accept, to be thankful for your life, for people, to start learning new things, new rules, a new language. I do believe that human life is a precious gift and every life matters. Each of us is important and we must do our best in that place where we are, starting with the smallest things. My motto for this year has been: “Please, don’t freeze, every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn”. I am grateful for all the incredible people in my life whom I met during this year, starting with the border of my country. I want to say thank you so much Switzerland and Swiss people for your support, protection, help and benevolence. I wish that not a single person in the world has ever witnessed the war in their lives, as we, human beings, were created to make love not war." Nyon, 24.02.2023 Inna Chernychuk.