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I Want to Live, Not Just Survive

September 1, 2016

Nadia* is an attractive young woman with a cheerful baby on her hip. When we asked why she wanted to go to Israel, she said, “I want to live, not just survive.” We met Nadia in Dnipro, Ukraine. She is one of forty people staying in a simple fishing camp while preparing to go to Israel. We have joined with several Christian groups to provide this camp as a place of refuge for Jewish people fleeing from Lugansk and Donetsk, two areas of Ukraine that have been ravaged by war for the past two years. (* Name has been changed.)

A Temporary Refuge

The camp is on the banks of a large river, an idyllic spot to recover from the ravages of war, loss and deprivation. During our visit, we met with large extended families, small families and singles. Children were playing in the hot summer sun as we spoke with their parents.

One middle-aged woman told me about hiding in the basement of their home for three months with no running water or electricity, afraid to go outside where explosions were normal. With tears running down her face, she spoke of the absolute fear they lived in until Christians came and helped them escape to safety. Now, she and her husband await permission to leave for Israel.

Dmitry and his wife are a young couple. They had gone grocery shopping and returned to find their apartment block bombed. They fled for their lives with very few possessions and have been at the camp for about four months. They hope to live in Haifa, in northern Israel. In the meantime they are studying Hebrew.

Some of the families we met were leaving quickly for Israel. Their faces were wreathed with smiles. They asked questions about life in Israel. They have hope. Others have just arrived and will most likely be in the camp for a few months. Some escaped from the war zone with their lives. Their paperwork is lost and their process takes longer. One man and his mother have been refugees four times as they have run from country to country searching for help.

There is a lot of fear in Ukraine as Russian aggression continues to threaten areas of the country. Over the past 70 years the Ukraine has suffered under the Nazis, Stalin and now faces two threats: Putin and poverty. We were told that 60% of the nation lives under the poverty line. The apartments we entered were small, bare and dilapidated. An air of sadness and defeat filled the air.

Jewish Community in Ukraine at Risk

Seventy-five years ago on September 29–30, 1941, 33,771 Jewish people were murdered at Babi Yar in Kiev. It was the worst two-day slaughter of the war. They were rounded up and shot to death, their naked bodies falling into the ravine. This month the President of Israel will join other dignitaries as well as Holocaust survivors on the 75th anniversary of the massacre. Today the place is a park, where parents bring their children to play. But, my soul shuddered as I realized that not so long ago this place had seen unadulterated evil. As I reflected on the evil, I purposed in my heart to save Jewish lives. We cannot change the past, but we can give the gift of hope and life to the Jewish descendants of the survivors. I cannot think of a better way to honor those who are gone.

Israeli officials are deeply concerned about the Jewish community in Ukraine. The threats they face are not diminishing—rather they are increasing. Conservative figures say that 250,000 Jewish people remain in Ukraine. Many of them are longing to come to Israel. Financially it is impossible for them unless they receive help. An average salary is $70 a month. Shockingly, utilities can run $40 a month (more than half the monthly salary). We are helping by paying for paperwork, visas, passports, accommodations, food and transport from the war zone (at great risk to our drivers) to the transit camp and later to the airport. We estimate it costs about $400 to rescue one person. Your gift of any size will help us as we bring the Jewish people home.

“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—” (Isa 43:5–6).

Your donation to Project Rescue will enable us, with our Ukrainian Christian partners, to help rescue the Jewish people. We can be part of fulfilling Bible prophecy as God brings His people home to Israel.

Blessings from Israel,
Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO

Photo Credit: Pmarais/ Bridges for Peace