Zayed National Museum

Mom of four walks 16 km in freezing temperatures to reunite with children in Dubai

September 4, 2022

By Expat Media


Consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquaKhaleej Times"]

Mom of four walks 16 km in freezing temperatures to reunite with children in Dubai

Sofya Shamuzzi. a mom of four, walked all the way from the Ukraine border to Poland in freezing temperatures to reunite with Children in Dubai. Shamuzzi was on a business trip to Kyiv when Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on the Ukraine capital last Thursday. Shamuzzi was staying at the 11 Mirrors Design Hotel in the heart of Kyiv when she heard the sound of explosions, "It was scary," she said. She was due to return to Dubai two days later but was left stranded due to Russian aggression. She tried driving to Liev which was around 550km from Kyiv but later gave up due to the long queues of cars that jammed the roads. Fuel also became a problem as fuel stations run dry. She called some friends from the Kazakhstan embassy and she was asked to report the next day at 7:30 am the following day. A bus was waiting for her when she reached the embassy along with 45 Kazakh people inside and they soon journeyed to Lviv. “Finally, we reached Lviv after a long, exhausting journey. We completed some paperwork before being packed like sardines in another bus." she described. Shamuzzi’s hopes of a smooth crossing were quickly forlorn when she saw cars backed up for several km at the border crossing. She had to walk to the border in freezing cold after a conversation with some motorists who said that they had been waiting for 24 hours to cross. “It was bone-chilling cold, and I didn’t even have proper shoes, but my resolve was firm. I had endured 16 hours on two buses to come this far. A few hours on foot wouldn’t kill me." Shamuzzi said recalling the horrors she had to face. Thousands of Ukrainians-- mostly women, children, and senior citizens-- have fled to Poland and other neighboring countries. EU says refugees fleeing Ukraine would reach as many as 5 million. "Many had been waiting for over 48 hours to get to the other side of the border. I was lucky and made it safely back to Dubai," Shamuzzi said. Shamuzzi Reunited with her kids in Dubai on Monday (March 7). JMS/Expat Media

SHARE THIS

For all the latest news from the UAE and the world, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube page


Latest stories


Comment