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My life is a bunker

25 images Created 8 Apr 2016

In April 2015, with the help of Tomas Vlach, emergency coordinator for the NGO "People in Need",
I visited families living in old cold war bunkers in the cities of Marianka and Petrovsky -
Donetsk Oblast (province), Ukraine.
They live there for two possible reasons: either their houses got destroyed or damaged by the
fighting between Ukrainian army and the separatists, or they are just afraid, traumatized by
the constant sound of the mortars, bombs, automatic weapons, etc.
Hence, they chose to abandon their home and seeked refuge in these old underground concrete constructions.
Most of the families began abandoning their houses in August 2016 as the battle between the protagonists was getting
extremely intense. These bunkers are located in the separatists controlled zone.
Humanitarian organizations can have access to it.
However, it’s very difficult to organize things since it is a war area.
Some of the bunkers have electricity, and most of them don't have any water system.
So, either humanitarian organizations bring bottles of water,or during the day, the
residents run back to their houses to fill bottles.
The concrete walls of the bunkers are unpainted, so, a fine white dust constantly falls from the cement.
It gradually covers beds, tables and everything. And it rises when you walk, even if the families try
their best to clean it up.
Since the end of cold war, these bunkers have been unused, so the owners (coal mines, municipality, etc.)
tolerate these squatters for humanitarian reasons.

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  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Paint on a house door helping people to locate the bunkers. in English: Bomb shelter, 50 meters on the left.
    Bunker-1.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Behind the entrance of the bunker, the coal mine who actually own the bunkers and allowed the family to squatted it for humanitarian reasons.
    Bunker-19.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Behind the entrance of the bunker, the coal mine who actually own the bunkers and allowed the family to squatted it for humanitarian reasons.
    Bunker-2.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Tomas Vlach (on the right) emergency coordinator for the NGO "People in Need" welcome by some members of families living in the bunker.
    Bunker-3.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine -  One of the several kids living in the bunker intrigued by my presence.
    Bunker-4.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Inside the bunker, main entrance door. A flag of the separatist is hanging on the upright side of the door. A dog on the lower left side intrigued by the newcomers.
    Bunker-5.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Kidd's bicycle belonging to the several families could live in the bunker (up to 70 people at a time).
    Bunker-6.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Typical room for a family in the bunker. Here 7 people sleep and live in this room. The grandmother on the left, the mother and her five kids. The father has gone, no clear explanation from the mother.
    Bunker-7.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Only curtains separate the rooms in between them. There is no real doors inside the bunker.
    Bunker-18.jpg
  • Bunker-24.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Natasha, 11 years old. Severely traumatize by the conflict. She scream every time she hear unfamiliar noise.
    Bunker-11.jpg
  • Agna, 10 years old and her little brother, Voda, 4 years old.
    Bunker-20.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Kids watching cartoons in a room inside the bunker.
    Bunker-8.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Anton, 30 years old. No work and can't join the separatist army as he wish because of its legs got injured after a severe car accident several years ago. So he spend the days either inside the bunker or visiting is house in Petrovsky and taking care of his little garden.
    Bunker-15.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Pasha 5 years old with his guinea pig, Masha.
    Bunker-13.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Marina preparing the dinner, pasta  for her four kids, in a small room reserve for cooking. Like most of the family we saw, no husband is present.
    Bunker-9.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Louba, 52 years old, figure of a leader for the other woman in the bunker.
    Bunker-14.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Czech photographer Iva Zimova trying to comfort Babushka as she often cry, lost hope for a better life sometimes. This was the second day we visited the bunkers.
    Bunker-12.jpg
  • 12 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donestk Oblast/ Ukraine - Tomas Vlach, emergency coordinator of the NGO "People in Need" in discussion with Babushka, grandmother of Natacha (on the right), trying to have a better understanding of her family needs.
    Bunker-21.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Two man live in this tiny room but they were not there when we visited.
    Bunker-17.jpg
  • A very tiny room in the bunker belonging to a single woman who was not present when we visited.
    Bunker-23.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - Inside one of the room. Typical bed in the bunker; made of empty cardboard boxes.
    Bunker-16.jpg
  • 15 of April 2015 / Petrovski/ Donetsk Oblast/ Ukraine - There is several rooms with different size in the bunker. Here a tiny one to accommodate this man who refuse to give me it's name and to be identified.
    Bunker-10.jpg
  • Bunker-25.jpg
  • When he saw my camera, he scream and run into his mother's arms. He take my camera lens for a gun nozzle.
    Bunker-22.jpg
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