For two years Ukrainian Maksim Sapalev had been working as a dairy farm relief worker in the little Norwegian coastal town Rørvik. In the fall of 2021, his wife and daughter joined him from Ukraine for a family reunification. Then came February 2022. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Rørvik, Maksim was sleepless and agonising with worry for the rest of his family, trapped in a rapidly escalating war zone.
With a small loan from his employer, he travelled to the Polish-Ukrainian border where he helped terrified and exhausted refugees while anxiously waiting for news from his own family. He worked around the clock, chainsmoking and crying, barely able to eat or sleep. After ten days his parents, grandparents and his brother, who is intellectually disabled and autistic, finally arrived at the border with nothing but bare essentials. Back home the local Rørvik community mobilised and raised enough money for Maksim to buy a minibus. Despite never having driven one before, he set off to bring his family 3600 kilometres to safety. As word spread that they were on their way, his employer, neighbours, and the local authorities worked together to secure a house and fill it with furniture, clothes, and essential medicines, all within 14 hours.
Maksim’s mother, brother, and grandparents had never been abroad before. Now they must learn to navigate life in a completely new country. Most days they stay indoors with the curtains drawn, following news from home as the reality of the situation slowly sinks in. Maksim’s mother spends nearly all her time caring for his brother, Artem, but hopes they will soon be offered support services to ease the load. Still, there are small moments of calm. The whole family loves fishing, and Maksim’s father and grandfather stroll down to the pier almost every evening, just as they would back home.
Meanwhile, Maksim who is actually on sick leave after a work injury, has extremely busy days, organising paperwork, appointments, and all the practical details his family needs to settle into their new life.