DUBAI: An 11-year-old Ukrainian boy has been labeled a “champion” after completing a 1,000 km solo trip to Slovakia from his hometown of Zaporizhzhia, where a nuclear power plant was attacked by Russian forces.
Young Hassan set off with just a backpack, his passport and a relative’s phone number written on his hand, leaving behind his widowed mother and sick grandmother.
Located in southeast Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is the biggest of its kind in Europe and one of the 10 largest in the world. It was taken over by the Russians last week following a ferocious battle that sparked a fire at the facility.
After his arrival in Slovakia on Sunday, Hassan was looked after by volunteers at a shelter set up to deal with the huge influx of refugees from Ukraine.
Unable to leave her own elderly and infirm mother, Hassan’s mother Yulia Pisetskaya posted a video on Facebook thanking those who had taken care of her son.
“In your small country, there are people with big hearts. Please save our Ukrainian children and give them a safe haven,” she said.
Media reports said the volunteers contacted the boy’s relatives — whose number was written on his hand — and they came to collect him.
Slovak Interior Minister Roman Mikulec posted what he described as Hassan’s “heart-touching story for the whole of Slovakia” on the ministry’s official Facebook page.
“Little Hassan is only 11 years old but in his way he has shown huge determination, courage and fearlessness that sometimes adults don’t have,” Mikulec said.
“I am really very sorry for him and all the other children and their families who have to flee their country because of what is happening in Ukraine.”
According to official figures, almost 113,000 Ukrainians have taken refuge in Slovakia since the war broke out on Feb. 24.
“I assure all those who flee from Ukraine that here in Slovakia we are ready to help,” Mikulec said.
“You will find security with us and if you ask for temporary protection, you will be provided with health care, social security, food, accommodation, education and job opportunities.”
The UN estimates that more than 2 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the biggest exodus of refugees in Europe since World War II.