Celebrating life on mine risk awareness day: Story of five-year-old Olenka

The International Mine Awareness Day draws the world’s attention to the terrible impact of armed conflict on the civilian population

3 Apr 2020

When you see five-year-old Olenka, you would never guess that, two years ago, she survived a terrible accident after a mortar shell exploded while she was playing with her friends.

Olenka is a very active and playful child, she loves attention. She shows us how she does gymnastics and rides a bike, whilst telling us joyfully about her friends in kindergarten.

On 4 April, Olenka will celebrate her birthday. On the same day, the world will observe International Mine Awareness Day. And Olenka has her story to tell.

“I was playing with my friend Denys in his house. He showed me a piece of metal which he had found in his yard. We wanted to make a whistle out of it. As soon as Denys hammered the piece of metal, it exploded…”, says Olenka.

“As soon as Denys hammered the piece of metal, it exploded…”

The girl underwent three surgeries in order to heal the terrible damage to her stomach and intestinal canal. Today, almost 50 small pieces of the mortar shell remain in her liver, kidneys and other organs, as it was impossible for doctors to take them out. Her friend Denys also suffered terrible injuries and lost his fingers.

During this difficult time, Olenka was greatly supported by her family. She is the youngest of five children. The family lives in the village close to the contact line of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“Because of the ongoing hostility, many houses in the village were damaged,” recalls Olenka’s mother. “We hear the sounds of shelling almost every day. Our own house was damaged when the mine exploded in the yard. With the support of UNHCR and NRC, we replaced the windows and insulated the walls, so now all my children are in a safe and warm house”.

The intense armed clashes occurred daily in Krasnohorivka and Marinka. The “red and white” mine warning signs are installed on the road from Marinka to Krasnohorivka. According to the latest reports, these settlements are the most contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the government-controlled territories, as well as in Berezove. Both children and adults still find remnants of war everywhere in the town, in its suburbs and in people’s own yards. Some carelessly take UXOs to their homes as war booty.

In 2019, UNHCR and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) assisted the family with their house reparations thanks to funds provided by the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

In 2020, UNHCR and its partner NGO “Right to Protection” is working with Olenka in order to help her receive the state certificate proving her disability due to the accident. The remnants of the bullet continue to cause pain and deform her body. A certificate would help her receive some financial support from the state for the purchase of medicines, which would be a welcome addition to the very limited family budget (USD 180 per month).

Today, over half a million people live in areas directly affected by the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and continue to experience regular exchanges of fire across the ‘contact line’, while another two million people are exposed to landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Today, over half a million people live in areas directly affected by the armed conflict in east Ukraine

In 2019 alone, OHCHR recorded 59 civilian casualties (17 killed and 42 injured) in Ukraine resulting from mine-related incidents and the handling of explosive remnants of war (ERW). This represents about 35% of total civilian casualties.

“The data shows that the number of incidents in Ukraine is declining,” says Martin Oubrecht, Mine Action Sub-Cluster Coordinator. “However,” he continues, “despite this trend, Ukraine still features among the top three states affected by anti-vehicle mines for the fourth consecutive year. The country is also included in the top five states with the most mine- and UXO-related casualties”.

As noted in the recent update by the Mine Action Sub-Cluster, “Although the scale of mine and UXO contamination is very large in Ukraine, it ranks 12th in terms of donor support according to Landmine Monitor 2019 (USD 11.9 mil). Various obstacles, such as a lack of financial, human and technical capacity are limiting mine action response in Ukraine. And yet, with the support of international partners, quality control teams of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine have been trained and, in 2019, checked 250,7 hectares of cleared land. 169 hectares of cleared land were successfully handed over to the local authorities in the oblasts of Donetska and Luhanska in 2019”.

“When I grow up, I want to be a gymnast,” declares Olenka, showing us another sophisticated gymnastics pose. We smile at her and hope that the dreams of children and adults in eastern Ukraine will not be threatened by the conflict.

Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality. 

Edited by Giulia Ferrara