Yakutian refugees from Lebanon

Lebanon – Yakutsk. That's the way Yakutian woman with three kids has evacuated from the war zone. She returned homeland on Sunday, August 13, by Yakutia Airlines flight from Moscow.

Photo by Slava Levochkin

Elena Chemezova is married to a Lebanese. She became acquainted with her husband Ali Mussa at the time of her internship in Moscow . She was a medical college student of Yakutsk State University and he studied at Moscow Peoples Friendship University . In Lebanon the Yakutian had been living since 1998. There are three kids in her family: 7-year-old Rayan, 4-year-old Ravan, and 1-year-old babe Lilian.

The family lived in a small settlement of Rashaya near the boundary with Syria . It is several hours' ride from the place of fighting, the main disposition of Hezbollah, a powerful political and military organization of Shia Muslims in Lebanon . Elena and Ali decided to get with kids on their own to a Syrian airport where Russian airplanes should evacuate fellow countrymen. By a fluke, the chosen road appeared safe and less damaged by bombs.

Evacuation information was spread out by word of mouth, mainly by relatives' phone calls from Russia . Elena and her kids managed to get the first evacuation flight. According to Chemezova, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry did its work very well. On the first day of evacuation, there were four airplanes that could practically take on board all arrived people, Russian and CIS citizens.

Elena's husband left in Rashaya. He is a doctor, paediatrist. Now he has much work to do. By phone, he informed that all surrounding roads had been destroyed, no gasoline trade anymore, people suffered the deficiency of drink water and food.

Elena Chemezova with kids plans to stay at mother's place till the end of the armed conflict. When the war will be over, nobody knows. From Lebanon Elena brought only one bag. It was hard for kids to endure a long distance travel. They miss home. When little Lilian was talking to her father, she asked him to come. If the home-coming is delayed for uncertain time, Elen will be forced to place her elder children into Russian kindergarten and school.

At the request of the Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yakutsk, Yakutia Airlines provided free flight to Elen, her kids and mother from Moscow to Yakutsk .

Written by Vladislav Levochkin,
Translated by YakutiaToday.Com

Resource: GazetaYakutia.Ru