Save Our Souls: a Ukrainian psychologist working in hotspots
During the first month of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Kateryna Haidamachuk, a senior psychologist from the General Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) in Kyiv oblast, was part of the efforts to rescue civilians from the grip of Russian forces. She witnessed the horrifying aftermath of the atrocities in Borodianka.
Rescuers hope for a miracle
Before joining the SES, Kateryna had spent a decade working in the Psychiatric Department of a Regional Substance Abuse Hospital in Kyiv oblast. When she left the hospital for good, she recalls that people around her seemed like aliens – such was the stark contrast between her new normality and the lives of her former patients. However, it was in the hospital that she learned to work in crises where every second mattered.
"While my job at the hospital required more pathology diagnostic work and psycho-correctional sessions, I joined the SES expecting a deeper involvement in crisis psychology. I understood that I could work in emergencies and I liked the idea of being helpful," she says.
Kateryna vividly remembers her first deployment. In 2014, just a week after she had joined the SES, there was an explosion at a petrol station in Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, a city in the east of Kyiv oblast (now Pereiaslav). Six people lost their lives: four station workers and two visitors.
“The explosion happened during the shift change at eight in the morning," Kateryna recalls. "For fifteen hours, the rescuers worked tirelessly to manually clear the debris, unable to use any equipment. My role was to prepare the victims' relatives for the worst because the chances of finding their loved ones alive were minimal. Nevertheless, every rescuer always hopes for a miracle.”
One of the crucial rules in Kateryna’s work is never to make empty promises. "You can't give false hope, you can't say 'everything will be fine' because you have no idea how things will be. Instead, it's essential to bring people back to reality so that they can regain their footing," she explains.
Constantly shelled evacuation routes
On 24 February 24, 2022, Kateryna's sleep was interrupted by explosions. "Of course, deep inside I wasn't ready for the war, because I just didn't want to believe in it even though at work we were obliged to have our bug-out bags with essential items ready. The discussions in media had been quite tense in preceding weeks, so we were instructed to get ready on the highest alert," she says.
When the alert rang, at first she thought the reason was a fire in the oil depot in Kyiv oblast, not far from where she lived. She got herself ready quickly, put on her uniform, and ran to the nearest fire and rescue station. "I asked: 'Have you guys been called yet?’ ‘No, it must be the war,’ they answered. In 10 minutes our phones rang — we were told to go on alert," Kateryna recalls.
She got to the State Emergency Service Kyiv headquarters by suburban railway. Many passengers of the early train were not aware that the full-scale war had begun. As the train was getting closer to Kyiv, the news spread. People were doubtful and confused.
As the situation became increasingly dangerous, Kateryna stayed at the headquarters for three days. "There were shootings everywhere, so we could not leave Kyiv. Then we were placed on duty in the nearest units," says Kateryna.
As soon as the first evacuation began, when people were leaving Irpin, a city northwest of Kyiv, on their own, the emergency personnel was sent there. "People were being shot at while walking out of town. It was like a deadly lottery," says Kateryna.
Starting from 10 March 2022, rescuers brought refugees from the towns captured by the Russian forces to the village of Bilohorodka, in Kyiv oblast, where a large evacuation camp was set up.
“Even though the official evacuation through the green corridors was already underway, this did not stop the Russians. The routes were constantly shelled. One of our operational rescuers was taken captive. He is still in captivity, but, thank God, he is alive. It's been over a year now," adds Kateryna.
The human moment at work
According to Kateryna, people's behaviour in stressful situations can be unpredictable. Some get hysterical, others go into a stupor. The main task of a psychologist in such cases is to make sure their work does not cause additional harm or trauma.
However, most people are naturally resilient. "If such a tragedy hadn't occurred, we might not have realized the depth of goodness within us," says the psychologist.
She is convinced there are no bad or good people, only qualities that are more or less revealed during stressful events and crises. "A common example from Bilohorodka was a mother with a breastfed baby. We offered her yoghurts, baby food, and a large package of diapers for the journey, but she said: 'No, I'll only need 5 pieces to get to my destination. But you still have many children staying here," recalls Kateryna.
When the Russian forces left Borodianka, the rescuers went to clear the rubble. There, Kateryna provided psychological support to relatives and friends of those killed and injured during the search and recovery of bodies and helped those who remained in their homes and survived the horrors of the occupation to recover.
“People were dying of suffocation, without food and water, under the rubble. We retrieved fragments of bodies that relatives had to use to identify their loved ones. All this was an enormous burden," the psychologist says. "It is a tragedy, and you can never be prepared for it. And even if you have professional skills, sometimes you have to work as a human being and show your human qualities.”
Instead of an epilogue
At the end of the interview, Kateryna Haidamachuk shared a quote by Albert Einstein that matters to her: "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." Kateryna has already found out how to be of value: she rescues souls.