Photo: SLOVAK INTERIOR MINISTRY / copyright
After traveling about 1.200 kilometers from the east of Ukraine with the phone number of his relatives written down in his hand, Hassan arrived safely in Slovakia.
With only 11 years old, he undertook the exodus alone from his home in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia because his mother could not leave her elderly mother. She herself put him on a train in hopes of keeping him safe.
When Hassan finally reached the Ukraine-Slovakia border, officials from customs helped him cross. They also referred to him as “a true hero.”
The boy was carrying a plastic bag, a small red backpack on his back and his passport. He was taken in by volunteers who gave him food and drink while border officials located his relatives in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.
In a video released by the Slovak police, his mother thanked everyone for taking care of her son and explained the difficult decision to send him on a trip across the country amid the Russian invasion.
“Next to my city there is a power plant that the Russians are bombing. I couldn’t leave my mother, she can’t move on her own, so I sent my son to Slovakia,” said Julia Pisecka, who is a widow.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest Europe’s big. It was seized by the Russian army over the weekend, after attacking it and setting it on fire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that could have caused destruction on a much larger scale than the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
Hassan is one of more than 2 million people who have fled the war caused by Russia in Ukraine. About 1.2 million have arrived in Poland, while 03.ooo have moved to Slovakia, according to the latest UN figures.
On the verge of tears, her mother begged for the children of Ukraine to be given a safe haven.
An official from the Slovak Interior Ministry said that Hassan had won over everyone at the border with his smile, bravery and determination.
The official said that he used the phone number written on the boy’s hand, as well as a piece of paper in his pocket, to communicate with relatives in the Slovak capital.
Minister of the Interior , Roman Mikulec, met with Hassan on Monday and said that he and his brothers had already applied for temporary protection in Slovakia.
Slovak officials urged to people interested in helping the mother and the grandmother of the child to donate to the Slovak Christian youth association ZKSM.
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