Some Belgians do not want to leave Ukraine, despite the war, and abandon what they sometimes took 20 years to build. This is the case of Bernard Willem, he is a breeder. We met him in the west of the country, a few kilometers from Lviv.
Bernard Willem has lived in Ukraine for 22 years. Today on his farm, with his wife and 15-year-old daughter, they have decided to stay. For them, leaving the country is not an option.
“Here, there is no war yet. When it comes to 50 kilometers, we will see… I stay because I have an investment. Secondly, I have goats, dogs, horses and when you have trained horses, it is not good to leave them in place”confides Bernard.
Normally, they don’t live next to 600 goats. They live in the city of Lviv, 50 kilometers away. Today, they preferred to take refuge in the countryside.
“I left Lviv when we heard the sirens. Waking up with the sirens, no one can say it’s pleasant enough. People who have experienced it, it’s still terrible. When I saw my wife who was phoning the neighbor to see where the cellar was where we could go, there, I said to myself that, it’s not going for me”he continues.
Since Sunday, they are no longer alone. A French family from a combat zone has arrived. “I was in contact with him, and I was worrying lately because I had trouble reaching him and I knew that there was bombardment. (…) I told him that if he was leaving, he could come to my house with his family and the three children. They are here on the farm. They eat eggs, they drink goat’s milk and they recover a little health.”
They have something to hold on to. Before leaving Bernard Willem, his family and his guests, head to the cheese-making workshop. Everything is at a standstill but the fridges are well filled.
“We have everything, water, a garden… There is no problem, I can hold on. The only problem is if there are shells. Another danger would be that the Russians come and block the border”, he concludes.
Bernard Willem is the story of a Belgian in a country at war who does not want to leave.