Ania, 11 years old
Ania was 11 years old when she painted this picture. She was only 10 when Russian troops occupied Kherson. She and her family sought refuge in her grandmother's house in the village of Antonivka.
Ania remembers planting strawberries in a pot on the windowsill before the occupation. Afterwards, the city filled with "monsters"—that
's how she described the way Russian soldiers invaded the city.
The window behind the strawberry plant was now covered with black plastic film – to protect against glass shards: explosions had become part of everyday life.
In the fall of 2022, the occupiers sent Ania to what was supposed to be a two-week summer camp. Instead, she spent ten weeks in a camp called "Friendship"—followed by another ten weeks in the "Sunbeam" camp.
The children lived there in a prison-like security facility. They were forced to sing the Russian national anthem, constantly yelled at, and physically abused. Anyone deemed "disobedient" was placed in isolation.
After months of tireless efforts by her family – supported by a relief organization – Ania was finally able to be brought back to Cherson.
She returned just before the destruction of the Kachowka Dam, when the floodwaters swept away houses, belongings, and places that had been part of her childhood.
