Dafna Rachok returned to her home country Ukraine with the expectations of working on her P.h.D. research and dissertation, not fleeing her home. Dafna is an IU P.h.D. student in the Department of Anthropology and researches sex work in Ukraine.
Russia first invaded Ukraine on February 24. Dafna says Russian helicopters were flying above her home in Kyiv during the attacks on a nearby airport. She held her dog underneath her body, kept her mouth open, head covered and stayed low to the ground. She says her thoughts were only on survival and she was not able to process what was happening until after.
After surviving the attack, Dafna and her partner fled Kyiv and headed toward western Ukraine to Ivano-Frankivsk to stay with friends. The drive that should have taken only about eight and a half hours took 26 hours. Over 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine now. This is the largest refugee exit since World War II.
Since arriving to safety in Ivano-Frankivsk, Dafna spends her time organizing help for Ukrainian refugees. She said she helps organize information and connects other Ukrainians with contacts who may be able to help.
Dafna explains day-to-day life and her efforts at providing help for others fleeing Ukraine.
Dafna says she struggles to find words to explain her emotions, but there are a few that come to mind, including “anger,” “hate” and “vindictive.” She hopes to return to Kyiv soon and see what needs to be done to rebuild the city, but for now she has to wait and deal with the period of not knowing. Russia and Ukraine have had multiple meetings to discuss negotiations, with reports saying that there may be compromise in the future.
Dafna explains her feelings after fleeing Kyiv.
Dafna expresses another frustrating part is hearing people misnaming “Ukraine” as “the Ukraine.”
“By writing “the Ukraine,” you refer to the territory and not the state thus denying Ukrainian statehood and upholding the Russian narrative, the same narrative that Russia is using now to justify war in my home country,” Dafna said.
Ukraine has been an independent country since 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
She says has hope that Ukraine will prevail in Russia’s war, stating that Ukraine did not start the war and Ukraine grows stronger everyday that the war continues.
In Bloomington, IU professor Elizabeth Dunn arranged a Venmo fundraiser for Ukrainian refugees at the Ukraine-Poland border and some in Lviv which raised $1700 and the Indiana University Ukrainian Studies Organization held a peaceful protest against the war at Sample Gates on February 25.
Dafna expresses her hope for Ukraine in the war.
