In the hope of happiness - the story of two brothers from Khorezm
"Mom and Dad went to Russia for work when I was 6, and my brother was 4. They left us with our grandfather in a small house. We lived on his pension. Grandpa took care of us, but suddenly everything changed"
"Mom and Dad went to Russia for work when I was 6, and my brother was 4. They left us with our grandfather in a small house. We lived on his pension. Grandpa took care of us, but suddenly everything changed.
Grandfather started drinking a lot, swearing, and beating us. My younger brother would come to me when he would get very scared. We had no one to protect us and that so we felt very lonely and scared.
I only have my brother; I love him a lot. We do have a younger sister however, she lives far away, with mom and dad. She is so lucky.
Our parents visit us once a year and call twice a month. We have already forgotten their voice.
Sometimes our parents send us money. Grandfather spends it on drinks, and therefore there is no food, water, gas, or electricity in our house. We sleep in a cold room and we do homework using candles for light.
Last year, my grandfather died from coronavirus. Mom and Dad had to return, but soon they went back to Russia. They left my brother and I with our uncle and aunt.
When schools opened again, we returned to classes. We are great students and always get good grades and teachers love us. Even though we want to, we cannot attend extracurricular activities, because we have no money for transportation. We have no money even for food and clothing.
I always calm my brother down by saying that someday our parents will return and never leave us again.”
Social workers have been working with the brothers for a long time. The boys became sociable, and now they have friends.
Regional Charitable Public Foundation "Mahalla" helped the family cover the debts for utilities, repairs on the house and electricity, gas, and sewage improvements. Now the brothers live in a warm and bright house. They received birth certificates and their living situation improved.
This story was written in the framework of the interregional project "Protection of children affected by migration in Southeast, South and Central Asia", funded by the European Union and UNICEF.
