The girl became the tutor of her little brother, their mother remained with their father, who could not leave Ukraine. For the time being, the student must above all find work, and hopes to stay in their current accommodation.
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“Welcome to the house”. The doormat sets the tone, as much as the pink slippers at the feet of Lily Shkil. The “real” house of the young Ukrainian is in kyiv, but this apartment begins to look like a home start. Since she arrived in Nice with her little brother Artem, the March 1, they changed three or four times a place of welcome. “I hope this time, we will stay …” For three days, here they are located at Afaf Ben Salem.
How long will she host them? “We’ll see. They are there, a point is all,” slats the caregiver 52 years. She lives alone and spends a lot of time in Monaco, where her boss hosts a part of the week. With the price of gas, it limits back and forth. Then she called Nice Town Hall by offering her room, empty a few days a week, and her sofa bed, “If it could help.” Lily and Artem landed a few days later.
“At first, I had been told that it was a mother and his son,” says Afaf. Lily smiles sadly. She became more than a big sister, despite her. His parents remained in Ukraine, then she became, at 21, tutor of his 15-year-old brother.
“I wanted to protect you”
All four fled kyiv on the second day of the war. “Because I insisted,” says Lily. At the first echo of the bombing, she planted her in front of her parents by saying, “We leave right away, now.” Artem has filled his backpack and they spun to Lviv, in the west of Ukraine . Without really understanding that they would not come back. Or at least, not right away. “I did not even have a second pants,” Slip Artem. Thought that all this story would be settled in a week. “But she forced me to leave Ukraine.” Lily shakes his head. “I wanted to protect you.” He smiles at him to reassure him. He knows.
Once in Lviv, the sirens are fearing in Lily that the west of Ukraine is not “Safe” for a long time. Once again, she plants in front of her parents; insists to bring his brother to shelter. Direction The border with Hungary, two this time, where a cousin recovers them for one night at home in Budapest. Then a flight to Nice.
Afaf listens to their journey, but does not ask any questions about the war. She knows that they spend a lot of their days reading everything he goes there. So she does not want to add. She still wanted to talk to their mother, tell her that she was taking care of her “loulous”. They have been cuckoo by interposed screens. “Besides, why did not your parents have come with you?” Lily explains: men have no right to get out of Ukraine, martial law obliges. And his mother wanted to stay with her father. But Lily does not regret anything. “If we had not fled as fast, we would have found themselves stuck by the Russians.” One of his friends fled the suburbs of kyiv, Friday, March 11th. He told him what he saw on the road. Burned cars. Bodies.
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