A year ago, like millions of other Ukrainian women, our friend and colleague Nika Perepelitsa from “Drukarnia” Civil Society Centre was forced to leave her home in Sloviansk and go to Ivano-Frankivsk, where she continued to work for the benefit of civil society together with the “Drukarnia” team.

Inspired by the strength, resilience and courage of Ukrainian women, we asked Nika to write a letter to her last year self.

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Hi Nika

Today is March 8, 2023, exactly one year since you left your hometown, your dear Sloviansk. A year that changed you so wildly that it’s hard for you to even imagine it at the moment. Now you are leaving home and your eyes are full of tears from confusion, from not understanding what to do next and where you will end up. You ended up in Ivano-Frankivsk, in the city you so dreamed of getting to know and did it a year before, and then you wanted to live there for 2-3 months. You always told yourself “Be afraid of your wishes” and here it came true. Frankivsk became your second home.

You’re scared right now, because you don’t know what will happen to your Sloviansk, you are scared for your parents. You are a bit scared for yourself, but in fact you can’t even imagine how bravely you’ve endured this year. A year on the road, because you had to look for a home several times. The station became your second home, because your family is scattered all over the country and now you are constantly going somewhere. Everything you ever wanted so much, the war forced you to make up for it in seven-mile steps.
This year strengthened you tremendously and proved 100 percent that you should rely only on yourself and your inner strength. No, you will not be alone, there have never been so many people around you, as before, who love you and are close to you. There were people who helped. There were opportunities that came around. Although, no, it was you who found them, despite everything that was happening around.

Yes, now you won’t be able to go out for coffee with your best friend, because there are a thousand kilometers between you. But you will be so proud of her, of how resilient and unbreakable she is, because she will become the mouthpiece and save the people who remained in your home region of Donetsk. And you will do everything to meet her at your favorite coffee shop, even in the midst of a war.

Unfortunately, your anxiety will return and you will have to deal with it again. But now you know for sure that you are very strong and won’t let it break you. Your eyes no longer show signs of confusion and fear, and to some they even seem happy, although you sometimes allow yourself to be filled with sadness and longing for home.

I have not often said that I am proud of you, but after this year I can finally say that you are my pride and I thank you for the time we’ve spent together in helping others, in work, in loving ourselves and the people around us, in mercy and honesty, and most importantly – in joining the fight for our victory. And now you are absolutely sure that it will come soon.

Nika

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