I am Alla Timashkova, a lawyer from Donetsk, Ukraine.

On February 25th, at 3 a.m. left Kyiv as a 5-month pregnant woman with my
13-year-old son. Columns of cars stretched out before us. It was then that I
realized how dangerous panic in a crowd can be — people push and literally
trample others to survive.

When I arrived in Bulgaria, I wanted only one thing — to rest. But the horror

didn’t stop when I was away — relatives were still dying, friends were losing their homes. My main difficulties were the feeling of being far from my

home, the language barrier, and the distance from those I love. Sometimes I
managed to cope, other times I didn’t.

But here, I did something that gave meaning to everything — I created a
group for Ukrainian mothers who had given birth in Bulgaria. There are now
over a 100 of us, helping each other however we can. What connects us is
the love and care for our children. When my children grow up, I would like
to return to Ukraine. I went through all of this so that they would know only
one path — the path of peace.