While many north-east children will have asked Santa for the latest sought-after toy, one little boy in Aberdeen has a Christmas wish that’s harder to grant.
Separated by war, seven-year-old Denis Horbach from Kyiv, has been apart from his dad since early May when he arrived in the north-east with his mother.
He’s just one of hundreds of Ukrainian children in the city whose fathers are legally obligated to remain in their home country in case they’re drafted into the military.
Alongside others from the Ukrainian Association of Aberdeen (UAA), Denis and his mum Anastasiia, 31, have been making and selling crafts within Curated Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Space in the run-up to Christmas.
But while Anastasiia wanted to say “thank you” to the city’s shoppers for their generosity in helping raise more than £2000 to send back to Ukraine, Denis had a different message to send.
Christmas wish to return home and see dad
Looking at a photo of his dad and him together, he expressed his one wish – to go home to Ukraine to be with his father.
He said: “Hi Daddy I really, really miss you. I want to go back to Ukraine and see you.” He ended the message by adding, “I really, really love you,” then blowing his dad a kiss.
Mum, Anastasiia Horbach, was a teacher in Kyiv. She’s now volunteering and studying English in the hope she will find work to support Denis.
“We’re all so grateful (the Ukrainian Association of Aberdeen) for how we’ve been welcomed and supported. And for the generosity in buying our crafts… it’s amazing.
It’s been the hardest time of our lives.”
“But the truth is I’m just one of many mothers who fled the country purely to preserve the life of my child. If I didn’t have Denis I would have stayed to preserve my country.
“It’s been the hardest time of our lives. These days there is very little signal and so I can only really communicate with Bogdan through text message.
“There’s one Ukrainian lady in Aberdeen that I know of whose husband has died. You live with this constant worry.
“It’s so hard for me to see how much Denis misses Bogdan. He cried after he made the little video message – he just loves his daddy so much. All he wants is to be with him.”
‘Thank you, Aberdeen’
Masha Pavlova, deputy director of the Ukrainian Association, said she was grateful for the big-hearted people of Aberdeen.
“At a time when families need support most, the people of Aberdeen showed themselves to be loving and generous. It was a community effort to make crafts – even the children took part. Then others sold goods in the Bon Accord Centre.
“To raise more than £2,000 is incredible. As an association, we are making sure the money goes to where it can be best used back home in Ukraine.
“And here we are doing all we can to make sure our children have as good and as happy a childhood as possible.”
To that end, the association is running a Ukrainian Christmas festival on Sunday December 18 where Ukrainian traditions and a visit from Santa will take place in Rosemount Community Centre.
Conversation