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Ukrainian refugee living in Harrogate shares her story ahead of charity concert

Tuesday, 3 October 2023 15:00

Elina, a Ukrainian refugee and now a Harrogate resident, has shared her story ahead of Harrogate Theatre Choir's charity concert.

Ukrainian refugee living in Harrogate shares her story ahead of charity concert Things got personal for Harrogate Theatre Choir as they prepared for their upcoming charity concert in aid of the people of Ukraine.  The choir will be performing West End hits for 'We Sing, You Give' - a benefit concert at the Frazer Theatre in Knaresborough on Saturday (7th October). And ahead of the event, Elina, a Ukrainian refugee and now a Harrogate resident, has shared her story to put a human face to the images of war we have seen since February 2022. Elina's story Elina is from the Sumy region of Ukraine, around 20 miles from the Russian border. Like many of us in the UK, and despite the news reports, she never truly believed the invasion would happen. But at 5.30am she was called by a friend and told that it had begun. Soon after, Russian forces crossed the border, tanks drove along her streets and missiles rained down. At 8am, surrounded by enemy troops, Elina fled to the shelter where she survived with no water, electricity or heating for two weeks. The resilience of the Ukrainian people has become legendary. She said:

"One of the main factors that saved the city was that fifty paratroopers destroyed a whole column of Russian tanks. Everybody started working for victory. "People brought boxes of Molotov cocktails and texted the locations of the Russians."
Once the humanitarian corridor opened, it was another 24 hours before anyone could leave because of the shelling. Taking only a backpack, Elina joined thousands of other civilians in a convoy of buses and travelled over 100 miles to Poltava. From there she continued her journey by train, overcrowded with families, cats and dogs, and 48 hours later arrived in Poland where, with the help of Homes for Ukraine, she decided to come to England. She has left many close friends in Ukraine. She said:
"When I came to England, everything was new to me. "It was not easy to leave everything behind because I didn’t know where I would be tomorrow."
Now settled here, Elina has made many new friends, both English and Ukrainian and expressed her gratitude to all the people who have helped her and all Ukrainians. 'We Sing, You Give' concert Harrogate Theatre Choir have thanked Elina for sharing her story and the Frazer Theatre for generously donating the venue. All the money raised from ticket sales will be given to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) so that they can continue to provide a lifeline for people affected by the conflict in Ukraine. Tickets are £10 and are available from The Frazer Theatre box office Frazer Theatre (thelittleboxoffice.com) or for more information from Harrogate Theatre Choir’s Events Page. Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.

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