Reference :
V-P-UA-E-00279
Date :
11/03/2015
Caption :
Lugansk region, Novotoshkivka. The residents wait for firewood.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
There are mines all round the village, making it dangerous to collect firewood, and there are no coal deliveries.
ICRC website, article from the 14th April 2015:
“Ukraine: Different sides of the line. Same problems.
[…] Novotoshkivka: A ghost village.
Novotoshkivka was badly affected by the devastating consequences of the fighting. Now, with no supplies reaching the village, residents are helping each other get Novotoshkivka back to normal. Dariya Fomina of the ICRC's Severodonetsk office visited the village recently.
"Even before we went, we knew that Novotoshkivka had been badly damaged by the intense shelling and rocket fire of the past few months. But the reality was even worse than we had expected. The road to the village was littered with huge craters, silent witnesses to continuous shelling. Almost all the houses were badly damaged or completely destroyed. Empty windows were covered with carpets or cardboard. Thousands of houses and apartments were just abandoned. Basically, it's a ghost town."
Before the conflict, some 2,500 people lived in Novotoshkivka. Now, the population is down to 400, most of them elderly or unemployed. They are surviving with no mains water and no electricity. Suppliers are afraid to deliver food. The one grocer still functioning has only just started selling bread again.
Mines and explosive devices are a real threat. The farming season is approaching, but people are realizing that it will be dangerous to plant their fields and gardens. Residents told us about a young boy who set off a mine as he tried to run away from the village during heavy shelling.
Following February's ceasefire, the residents of Novotoshkivka are trying to get back to normal. But humanitarian assistance is their only means of survival for the time being. The coal mines that were the main source of income for many are closed. And yet, despite the dire economic situation, many local residents see renovating the damaged village school as a top priority. "Novotoshkivka's only chance of revival is if families with children come back. And that might be possible if we repair our school," they told us."
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
3264x1836
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
