Displaying items by tag: unimaginable conditions

Olena and Oleksandr tried to escape Mariupol, but ended up in a Russian refugee hub (more like a concentration camp) where they were interrogated. ‘You can't imagine how horrible the conditions were there. Elderly people slept in corridors without mattresses or blankets. There was only one toilet and one sink for thousands of people. Dysentery soon began to spread. There was no way to wash or clean. It smelt extremely awful. Soap and disinfectant ran out on the second day we were there. Soon toilet paper and sanitary pads ran out. We were fingerprinted, photographed, interrogated for hours, and had phone call history and contact numbers on devices checked for links with journalists or government and military officials.’ They said If someone appeared to be a 'Ukrainian Nazi', they were sent to Donetsk for further ‘interrogation’ (torture). When authorities tried to deport them to Russia, they risked escaping with private drivers to Ukraine.