実質徴兵

 We approach the Slovakian border at 3 a.m. My girlfriend’s sister lives in Prague, and she’d promised that she would offer us shelter. But as we approached the border, we were informed by the crowd that border guards weren’t letting any men pass; only women and children.

I prepared to kiss my love goodbye and send her to safety, but she refused to go without me. I am both extremely moved by her decision and racked with fear. I love her with all my heart. I do not want to be separated from her, but I also feel it is my duty to protect her. I may not be able to do that here in Ukraine, where we were now stranded on the wrong side of the border during a war. But we had no other choice. We had to stay.

On March 3rd, the local army office gave me an order to be ready on to go and fight on the 5th. The next day, I was given a delay until March 10th. The waiting and not knowing is perhaps the hardest part. Not knowing if I will eventually be sent away, if my girlfriend and I will part ways and never see each other again, is something nobody mentally prepares you for. The mind wanders as you contemplate your fate. Many of our friends and loved ones are in the same boat.