Interview: First Ukrainian Refugee Arrives in Gaza Strip

Gaza City, Palestine – Unicorn Riot heard from the first Ukrainian refugee to arrive in Gaza with their spouse. Victoria Saidam is a Ukrainian pharmacist, married in her country to a medical student, Ibrahim Saidam.

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine began, Victoria fled with Ibrahim to stay with his family in the Gaza Strip. She is the first refugee from the war to reach the Gaza Strip. Ibrahim has previously survived three wars in the Gaza Strip, and now a fourth – in the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, about 200 kilometers southwest of Kyiv.

After walking 15 kilometers and riding in a van to escape Ukraine into Romania, Ibrahim and Victoria now live in Gaza. No missiles are in the air, but the future of the Gaza Strip is unknown, and war could break out at any moment in the Gaza Strip due to unstable political conditions in the coastal Palestinian territory, which is blockaded by the state of Israel.

Palestinians Commemorate Land Day in Gaza

Ibrahim’s future is also unknown. His flight has not ended his university studies in Ukraine, and the young couple wish for the end of the war in Ukraine so they can return again and complete their lives there.

Unicorn Riot's Coverage from Palestine:

Follow us on X (aka Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, BlueSky and Patreon.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to help sustain our horizontally-organized, non-profit media organization: supportourworknew