Tatiana Chernishenko, 25, arrived in Georgia from Ukraine a few months after the war began.

She has been living in Georgia for a year and a half and has been working on the issues of Ukrainian refugees living in Georgia.

We will introduce Tatiana through a story prepared within the framework of the UN Joint Programme “Mainstreaming a disability-inclusive humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis."

Tatiana has participated in a training aimed at raising awareness of issues concerning persons with disabilities and an informational meeting on issues related to gender-based violence (GBV) within the programme.

I was in Kyiv when the war started. After having spent a whole week in the basement of my house, I realized that I had to do something, but there was no traffic. The only thing I could do was to go to the station and get on the first train leaving the station. I didn’t even have to buy a ticket; because of the crisis, the evacuation from Ukraine was free, and you could either wait or take the very first train and leave immediately. So, I boarded the train leaving for Lviv, where it was safer, and all the way to Lviv I was thinking about where I would spend the night and what I should do. I had some acquaintances in Lviv and I stayed there for two months. But I couldn’t stay with them forever; mass layoffs and job cuts had already started; no one knew how long it would last. I had to make a decision either to rent a flat or to change my place of residence.

After the war started, Georgia offered free housing to Ukrainians. I found such a programme together with a friend with whom I had previously planning to go abroad, but my parents did not allow me to, considering the situation in the country. Sounds of gunfire would never stop. Obviously, it was dangerous. No one knew what to expect or how long this chaos would last. We used to sit in the basement with the whole family, all feeling overwhelmed. We would only go up to the apartment to sleep, but in the end, I refused to leave the basement and preferred to spend nights there, because I wasn’t able to sleep anyway. The fact that I had a friend was a decisive factor for me. I could not go anywhere else.

I have been here for a year and a half. I started working for World Vision on the issues of refugees living in Georgia. The project helps refugees to obtain information about social, educational, medical and other necessary documents. It turned out to be very useful for Ukrainians. As far as I know, there are now about 20,000 Ukrainian refugees in Georgia, although initially about 140,000 people crossed the border.

The fact that my friend was here was an important factor for me. She had arrived in Georgia about 1 month earlier and she knew better how to get access to necessary information, who to turn to in order to get a place to live. There were lots of people waiting for support. It took me up to 3 weeks to get a hotel room, until then I had stayed with my friend. We did not know how long this programme would last. This continued until about mid-July, after that I had to look for an apartment. Finding an apartment turned out to be difficult because everything was very expensive. But since I already knew some people here, I coped with this challenge successfully.

I work with many Ukrainians and they have different needs. There are families who had never lived outside their homeland, have children and find it difficult to adapt to new environments; but when you are alone, you are only responsible for yourself and you cope better with everything. There are 2 Ukrainian sectors in Tbilisi, and initially the schools were overcrowded, which is why many children are still enrolled in schools in Ukraine and are left without the opportunity to get education in Georgia. The majority of Ukrainians still do not know how long this situation will last and how long they will have to stay here. During the first year, everyone hoped that everything would be over in a month or so and they would be able to return home, so they thought there was no rush for them to enrol their children in schools in Georgia.

I stay here because of certain circumstances. Although many have returned to Ukraine and they feel better there. I'm staying here for now. I even consider moving to another country. I don't know yet though. I feel secure here. I know who to turn to if I'm in trouble, how everything is arranged here. I speak a little Georgian as well, although almost everyone speaks English here.

About the programme

The joint UN programme "Mainstreaming a disability inclusive humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis" is being implemented by five agencies of the United Nations (UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, UN Women, OHCHR) in 2023. The programme is being implemented with the support of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD Multi-Partnership Trust Fund).

The aim of the programme is to support the implementation of Article 11 of the Convention on Persons with Disabilities, according to which: "States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), other participating UN agencies and donor organizations.