Story: @semenik.oksana
Photo: Olexandr Popenko
This is not a recipe, but one of the scary “life hacks” that give an idea of how people lived, hiding for weeks in basements in the cities that were most affected by Russian aggression. Bucha is one of them.
Oksana, a communications manager and cultural journalist, encountered a full-scale war in Bucha.
She and her boyfriend (actually, a husband now, they got married after survival) had spent 15 days in a bomb shelter, and when there was no electricity, water or communication in the city for several days, they evacuated at their own risk. They had been walking 22 kilometers passing Russian roadblocks until they met the friends with a car on the territory controlled by Ukrainian army.
Oksana recalls what and how they ate:
It helped a lot that everyone shared everything with each other. In general, helping each other is the first thing that helps to survive in the most difficult conditions”.
“At first, oatmeal and instant noodles saved us, because we could just pour hot water over them and eat. When I didn’t want to eat at all because of stress, I forced myself to eat something sweet. “Canes” made by parents, long-storage cookies, nuts, and various sweet and energy bars came in handy.
Tea bags also helped. They had coffee, but never figured out how to brew it. Washing the cup every time after coffee drinking wasn’t an option, too much precious water could be wasted.
When the electricity and gas went out, cooking food was challenging. People tried to use products from the refrigerator as quickly as possible. Someone was trying to make salt-cured meat, someone was making a bonfire at the street. It became clear how useful the tourist tools are: mini-grills, portable gas burners, etc.
It helped a lot that everyone shared everything with each other. In general, helping each other is the first thing that helps to survive in the most difficult conditions”.
When there was no electricity for a long time, and the supply of candles ran out, a neighbor in the bomb shelter came up with an original way to make a candle from a potato.
“You need to take a potato and cut it in half, make a hole in half and push a piece of bandage into it, put it in a plate with oil and set the bandage on fire – it will work as a wick. This candle stinks a little, but it shines for a long time quite brightly.
