‘I could hear the bombs on my phone call. It’s terrifying’
A church’s day offering comfort for Ukranians saw prayers and support for innocent civilians caught up in the evils of war. Around 20 workers from the nearby Clock House Farm, which currently has 33 Ukrainian workers, sat inside Holy Trinity Church, in Coxheath, as Ukrainian hymns were played from a laptop and pictures of the destruction in their homeland stood beside the alter.
Worker Artem Mazurenko spoke emotionally about his wife and four-year-old son who were trapped in Kharkiv, the country’s second biggest city, which was being bombed by Vladimir Putin’s Russian troops. He said: “My wife rang me at 4am one morning telling me she could hear the military planes and missiles and I could hear the bombs exploding in the background. She is terrified.
“My family haven’t tried to leave as it’s too dangerous. There are long queues and a bombardment of attacks. Many of my friends are hiding in shelters. I’m in touch with my wife every day, but it is horrible.” For many others like Artem the dilemma of whether to return home or not is a tricky decision.
“It’s been very hard for me to stay here, it’s a massive stress for me. But I have no choice,” he said.
“We won’t get any help when we are out there and I have to provide for my family from over here.
“All Ukrainians are in the same situation. There is so much uncertainty about what’s going on or the safety of our relatives and friends.”
Ivan Semikin, who was born in the Ukraine but has lived in England for 15 years, also works at the farm and has family in Luhansk, Kyiv, Dnipro and Donetsk.
He said: “My mother and brother live in Luhansk where this all started.
“They heard bombing and shelling and were terrified, but are lucky it has moved on from them now.
“All of the workers have friends and family back in Ukraine and they’re all trying to help but there’s not much they can do from the UK.
“The war needs to stop. On this war there will be no winners and everybody will feel consequences.”
Polish worker Marta Ciausu helped organise bringing the employees from Clock House Farm to the Coxheath church. She revealed there were concerns about the farm workers whose visas were set to expire in a couple of weeks.
She said: “Nobody expected it to happen. These workers were expected to return in a couple of weeks before the war, but the UK government has helped by extending them until December. It’s the only good news they have had.
“Some workers have thought about going back, and it’s their choice, but they can’t provide for them back in Ukraine and they are constantly sending their family’s money to support them. “It’s just so heartbreaking to see and hear. One of our workers returned to the country a couple of weeks ago when her visa ran out and I’ve been in touch with her daily about what’s going on. “She is from Vinnytsya and the community have been rallying together to support all the soldiers. A map of Ukraine dotted with hearts where workers families are from was found at the front of the church.
Church Curate, Lorna Faulkner, said: “I was blown away by the reaction to what’s happening today. We’re here all day and so many people have asked how they can help or what they can do. It was lovely to see so many people coming together. “It’s a tough situation for them, as the reality of it for these people and their families is dreadful.
“We thought the least we can do is call for and open the church.”