Published: Just now
Nazar, 14, was awakened when the news anchor said it was war.
Two weeks later, after fleeing through Europe, he arrived in Uppland’s Väsby.
– In its own way, Sweden is fantastically good. But I worry about dad who is still in Ukraine.
Up to and including December 1, 49,203 Ukrainians have applied for temporary residence permits under the mass migration directive. A few thousand have left Sweden, but most remain.
One of them is eighth-grader Nazar Kregel, 14, from Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine. February 24, 2022, he will never forget.
– The night before I prepared for an important test at school. I went to bed late, and woke up to the TV being on very loud and they announced that there was a war.
Lived near the airport
– Then mother said we had to pack. Dad went out with our giant schnauzer Della and we collected things. When dad was back home, the first wave of bombs hit our town, at five o’clock in the morning. We lived near the airport, which was hit by rockets. The cars on the street started honking loudly and our dog got scared.
– We went out and sat in the car, you could see broken windows and balcony windows everywhere. We went to a gas station to fill up, there were long lines of cars. It was very unpleasant, everyone was scared and fled the city, says Nazar.
After a few days in the family’s summer cottage, where they listened to the news around the clock, Nazar, his mother Oksana and 23-year-old sister Nastya left Ukraine. They slept in the car as they made their way through Germany. When the exhaust pipe broke, Nazar fixed it temporarily, and they were able to continue.
Finally his godmother in Sweden called, asked how the situation was and told them to get there. For three months the family lived with her, but now they have their own two-room apartment in Upplands Väsby.
Nazar is busy. Sometimes he looks after children and walks dogs, to supplement the family’s meager refugee fund.
He is in eighth grade in both Swedish and Ukrainian schools. When he gets home from school at half past four, he eats. Then he spends three, four hours on Ukrainian homework.
Getting help with Swedish
– There is a colossal amount of work, especially now towards the end of the semester when there are many big tests in the Ukrainian school. In Ukraine I went to a Polish school, so I study both Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, English and Swedish. It’s a lot of pressure, but I manage somehow. I’m a smart guy, says Nazar, laughing.
He gets a lot of help from his Swedish classmates with Swedish and other subjects.
– They really support me, it’s very good, says Nazar.
Father Sergej, who like all other men under the age of 60 had to stay in Ukraine, lives in Ivano-Frankivsk where he takes care of Nazar’s dog and his grandmother, who recently underwent cancer surgery.
– I miss dad a lot, and worry about him because the Russians shell Ukraine almost every day, says Nazar.
“Then we’ll talk for a long time”
He often talks to his father, although the power outages complicate the relationship. But on Sundays the father is off from his job as a geophysicist and from his service in the Home Guard.
– Then he has time, and we talk for a long time. In addition, we play chess online. It is very interesting. When I win over dad, it’s even more interesting, Nazar laughs.
In the little free time he has after all the schoolwork, he rides his bike or walks with his new Swedish friends, and plays basketball.
Two days a week he goes into the center of Stockholm and improvises in a theater group with ten other Ukrainians who are between 13 and 17 years old.
– We learn to express our free will, to speak out and not be afraid, says Nazar.
He is very satisfied with life in Sweden – especially the visit to the Viking museum on Djurgården and all the good coffee. But the thoughts of the grandmother, the grandmother and the father steal a lot of strength.
Wants to be a doctor
– When time flies and you don’t think about Ukraine, it’s very good here. But when I start thinking about the war, the mood drops 100 percent, says Nazar.
He wants to be a doctor, to be able to help people. But the future is unclear:
– I have no clear plans. But when the war ends, I know that the first thing I will do is go to dad, because I miss him and grandma and grandpa very much. It is very sad that we cannot see them this Christmas, says Nazar, adding:
– But at least we still have dad. Many other families no longer have a father because of the war.