A Ukrainian refugee whose Scottish father-in-law drove 3000 miles to rescue her from Russian shelling has given birth to a baby daughter.
Six-month pregnant Anna Chichur, 30, was stranded in besieged Odesa before war veteran Michael Marley braved enemy fire in his Peugeot 308 to snatch her to safety. Tiny Alasa Chichur – the first baby to be born to a Ukrainian refugee mum in Scotland – is now a beacon of hope for the future of her homeland.
Anna’s 33-year-old husband remains in Odesa where he could be called up to fight at any time, and has only met his daughter via a video call. The mum of two gave birth at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and is now living in the city’s south side.
She said: “The people of Scotland have been so welcoming and I cannot thank them enough. Everyone wants to help us, I have met some very beautiful people.
“I dream of taking Alasa back to her homeland and meeting her other family. She is proud to be Scottish but will always be at heart a Ukrainian. Alasa is all that I could wish for and is so like her dad.
“The hospital told me that she was the first Ukrainian baby born here since the conflict broke out with Russia. The treatment that I received from the doctors and nurses was wonderful and I cannot thank them enough.”
Anna worries every day though for her family back in Odesa where the city is subjected to shelling which forces the population into air raid shelter. Two days after she left, the Russian Air Force bombed a children’s hospital and maternity ward in the city of Mariupol 380 miles away.
The missiles killed at least four people, injuring sixteen others, and causing a stillbirth. Pregnant mums have been forced to give birth in the shelters during attacks. She added: “Every day there is danger of missile strikes.
“When the sirens go off everyone must leave where they are. That includes women in the maternity hospitals even if they are about to give birth. Often they can find themselves in the air raid shelter giving birth or having just given birth.
“I didn’t want that for Alasa which is one of the reasons that I left. I wanted her to be born in a safe environment.”
Anna fled with her six-year old on Leo who has adapted well to life in Scotland. He is due to start primary school later this month and will also do online classes with his old school in Ukraine.
Anna says that she has been overwhelmed by the warmth of the reception since she arrived in Scotland particularly help with clothes, bedding and nappies for Alasa. She has also been able to meet up with other Ukrainian refugee families who have settled in Glasgow.
Anna added: “We want Leo to have a good Scottish education and also a Ukrainian one. First he struggled because he did not speak English, however he has now picked up the language and has made a lot of friends.
“Everyone has been so good in helping him to adapt and he loves the beautiful parks in Glasgow.”
In April we revealed how Anna’s father-in-law Michael travelled from Ardrossan in Ayrshire to Odesa for her. The 56-year-old army veteran did the marathon journey in his Peugeot 308 with Ukrainian doctor wife Oksana, 52 who is Anna’s mother-in-law.
They made their way through France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania – sleeping in the car on the way – to save Anna who was stranded in the village of Orlivka near Odesa. After an emotional reunion they headed for the Romanian border, crossing the River Danube by ferry en route back to Scotland.
The four stopped off in Paris where they had to wait six days for a visa at a special refugee processing centre before heading across the Channel Tunnel and back to Scotland on March 19.
Michael is a fire safety consultant who served for 20 years in the Queen’s Own Highlanders including tours of duty in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. The trio finally got back to Ardrossan on March 19. Anna, who is married to Oksana’s son, was a fitness instructor back in Odesa and hopes to find work in Glasgow. She dreams of returning one day to Ukraine with Alasa and Leo once the conflict is over.
Meanwhile she is hoping her self- employed husband will be able to come to Scotland when martial law is lifted, which could be later this month. Anna moved to Glasgow shortly before Alasa’s birth on July 14. There is a Ukrainian custom not to show the baby in its first month.
The newborn spent four days last month when she contracted jaundice but has now made a full recovery. Oksana’s mother Zina died last month at the age of 82, five days after Alasa’s birth, but she was able to see her granddaughter on a video call before passing away.
However Oksana was unable to go to the funeral in Odesa and see her son because of travel restrictions.
She said: “It is what they call the circle of life. After my mother’s death Alasa has brought us so much joy.
“We have a new family member and looking forward to getting on with this new chapter in our lives It has given us all hope.”
Anna also hopes to be reunited in Odesa one day with her mum Mila, 67, and dad Nicolai, 66. They are not subject to martial law because of their age but the journey to Scotland is too difficult at the moment because of travel restrictions.
Anna speaks to them every day and they have seen their baby granddaughter on video phone.
She added: ”I miss my husband very much and Leo misses his dad. Hopefully he will be able to come to Scotland later this month.
“He is desperate to see his new daughter and hold her in his arms. It is hard for me at times to be with two children. I can’t wait to be together as a family for the first time. However for the time being I am just glad that we are safe here in Scotland.”
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