Homelessness as a result of the war in Ukraine
Homelessness as a result of the war in Ukraine
There are multiple causes to why people can become homeless. According to various studies, more than 50% of all cases are attributed to job loss and substance abuse. This happens to people of different ages, gender and race.
On the other hand, there is also a cause that is not widely included in all of those research papers even though it’s been happening for centuries. It’s called war.
Over the last couple of decades, there have been numerous wars across different continents: Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes. Oftentimes, they also had to flee their countries because of intense battles occurring in the middle of their cities.
In order to get a better understanding of how war impacts homelessness, we shall take a close look at an ongoing war in Ukraine.
In short, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, has been characterized by a flagrant disregard for civilian life and frequent war crimes. Russia has indiscriminately attacked Ukrainian cities, including with banned weapons, committed extrajudicial executions in areas under its control, and targeted clearly-marked civilian infrastructure in places like Mariupol. More than 16,000 civilians in Ukraine have been killed or injured – a number the United Nations says is likely an undercount – and millions have been forced from their homes.
According to the deputy head of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada for the organization of state power, more than 800,000 Ukrainians have lost their homes as a result of the war by July 2022. Sadly, the deputy head also admits that the counter never stops. Hundreds of people lose their homes every day.
At a certain point, when you keep seeing all of these numbers, you start doubting if they make any sense or if this is just someone's imagination. How come so many people become homeless in such a short period of time? This is the time when Google Search comes in handy.
First, you can try searching "Avdiivka". It is the name for one of the peaceful villages located in the Donetsk oblast. Pre-war it had a population of more than 31,000 people. By spending less than a minute on Google, I could find at least 5 apartment buildings that have been destroyed as a result of the war.
“This village above does not even look that bad. It happens! It is a war zone. Probably this was one of the most affected cities” - you might think. Unfortunately, that’s wrong and there are dozens of other cities that ended up being in the middle of the massive battlefield.
Next, lets search for "Vuhledar". This is a name of a random city also located in Donetsk oblast. Before the war, it was a home for more than 15,000 people. As you can see on the image below, most of the city is damaged.
Last but not least, here are results from a quick search of images of Maryinka, located in Donetsk oblast. This city has been a home for more than 10,000 people before the war unfolded on Feb 24, 2022. Currently, it looks like an apocalypse movie scene. You can barely see any walls of houses that used to be there around a year ago. All of those houses used to be someone's home.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13l1p_Wdj3g-8RoH1NmNuqGWeW1uSgHTK/view?usp=sharing
Given the circumstances, only a few people who owned an apartment or house on one of these photos above even had a chance to take their personal belongings with them. In the best case scenario, they could evacuate themselves and their beloved ones with a couple of suitcases. This is how they all became homeless because of the war.
Sadly, the war evolves and more homes are being ruined every day. The number of homeless people is increasing and will not stop until the war is over. On the other hand, even when it would be over, not a single government in this world would have sufficient resources to re-built all of these heavily-impacted areas in a short period of time.
Therefore, it’s the people, communities and governments combined that can actually make an impact and help other people in trouble to get their homes back.
How can you help?
Stay aware and share your thoughts with friends, family and colleagues. As long as you follow this topic, you would be able to find a way to help people in need. Read reports and articles, here are a few examples:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/voina-ostavila-ikh-bez-doma-en/
Donate:
- Donations to support impacted people directly: https://u24.gov.ua/projects?directionId=3
- Donations to support people impacted by the war: https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en