Daniel, 10 years old, Jegor's brother, lives in a frontline village

»I have a brother and cousins. I noticed the shooting of the war, you can see it. I also found cartridge cases and hid them. I also saw tanks and BTR's* in the village. And army vehicles and GRAD's*. And soldiers and machine guns. I think that's all I have seen.
I'm walking around the village and don't get myself in a fret over this. My brother went to school in house no. 15, but then it was destroyed and we moved to Horlivka, where I attended the school until the 4th grade.
Now, all the children from the village are attending school in Opytne, which is situated in Ukrainian controlled territory. A bus picks us up to drive us there.
I received lessons in English, German, Ukrainian and Russian at the old school in Horlivka. There were also safety lessons. We have learned what to do in case of fire or when someone feels bad. And we received information about mines.
In my free time I stay near our house. I once found a bullet and a shell splinter in the attic and I discovered another bullet on the playground. I don't go to the farmland, too, because there are tanks behind it. There are many mines and in case of fire they could explode.
I'm happy with my life and I am pleased when something beautiful happens. When there is shooting, we hide in the entrance of our home or seek shelter in the basement. I like to play hide-and-seek with my friends, we walk around, we look for a picnic place or build a hideout with branches.
Now there's electricity in the village again, we can also watch TV. I like to look at cartoon films, for example Fixiki. While watching, I know that this is not true and is only imagined.
At night, I'm afraid of dreams, in which I have to jump off a roof and get killed or in which a train will run me over. Then I wake up.
I wish happiness, health and a long life for my family and myself.«

* BTR: an armoured personnel carrier
* GRAD: a multiple-launch rocket system

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