B.C. Ukrainian woman fearful for grandparents trapped in Mariupol

A Ukrainian B.C. woman has not heard from her grandparents in the besieged city of Mariupol in over five weeks, and is growing increasingly worried for them as the Russian siege continues.

Anastasiia Cherman is from Mariupol, and currently a student at the University of Winnipeg.

She told Global News she has been hoping for word about her grandparents, Natalia and Gennadiy, who have not been in contact with the family since March 3.

“They told me, ‘Don’t worry everything is fine. We hear somewhere far away there are shots and bombs, but it’s far away.’ Don’t you worry, that was their main message. But in the matter of a couple of days we lost any way to talk to them,” Cherman said.

“I don’t know how they are, I don’t know if they are OK, if they are safe, if they have food. If they hurt. I don’t know anything.”

About 120,000 citizens remain trapped in the city, which used to be home to more than 430,000 people.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said 33,000 people have been taken to Russia or the Donbas region.

Another estimated 21,000 civilians have been killed as of April 12, he added.

Cherman said she’s received word from Natalia’s neighbours her apartment has burned down and she was staying at a friend’s home, but may have moved to a bomb shelter after the house was shelled.

As for Gennadiy, the Chermans believe he is staying with a friend in a small town outside of Mariupol, but are unable to confirm his wellbeing either.

Cherman, who immigrated with her family from Mariupol to Winnipeg, and eventually to Maple Ridge, B.C., five years ago, has been texting other friends and family as well.

“As far as I know, whoever is safe is out of Mariupol. Whoever isn’t replying, I have no idea,” said Cherman.

One friend, a surgical nurse at a hospital that was bombed, was held hostage by Russian soldiers before she was eventually able to flee, Cherman said.

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“She saw dead children. She saw people laying in corridors because their hospital was one of the last hospitals to operate at all. Whoever was able to would go there,” said Cherman.

“They didn’t have water, they didn’t have food. They were getting snow and melting snow. They would drain the heating system and use the water from there. She told me how Russian soldiers went in and said there were not that many doctors, so whatever doctor tries to leave, we will just shoot them.”

Watching the siege of Mariupol from Canada has been equal parts surreal and painful for Cherman because beneath the wreckage, the city is full of familiar memories.

Her favorite parks, drama theatre, childhood home, and countless other places of significance are in ruins.

She is also a former student of Art School No. 12, destroyed in a bombing on March 20.

“I would brag about the drama theatre, I had pictures on my phone, ready to show it. It was one of my favorite parts of the city,” Cherman said. “And the sea of course. I miss the sea.

“Watching it be destroyed is a separate tragedy for me,” she added. “It is, was, a very beautiful city. It was very alive.”

Cherman and her family have been checking handwritten lists of civilians who made it to bomb shelters or who were able to cross borders, those who have been deported, patients in hospital, and Telegram groups.

She has been keeping busy, trying to support from afar by donating to Ukrainian relief organizations when she can, and by spreading awareness of what’s happening in Mariupol to Canadians.

“People are losing everything. Even though it’s hard and painful, we should make it personal. People should know,” Cherman said.

“You cannot stop. If you stop functioning, if you stop doing your part, you cannot help in any way. It’s hard to think we can do so little, but if we stop going on, then we cannot do anything at all. I just can’t not go on.”