It’s the elderly women caught up in the war in Ukraine that really get to Darrell McKay.
“These people should be relaxing in their senior years and not worrying about missiles coming in or, you know, no heat, no hydro, no water,” McKay says. “These people shouldn’t be going through that, but every war does this, right?”
The Campbell Riverite volunteers with an evacuation crew in Ukraine run by a group called East SOS. The group goes to the front in the eastern part of the country under occupation by Russian forces, evacuates people from small towns and villages and puts them on trains to safer areas of Ukraine.
Helping them off the bus after they’ve spent hours fleeing the Russian war machine leaving behind their homes and all their possessions in the towns and villages of the eastern Ukraine, McKay is moved by the elderly in particular.
“I was helping this elderly lady, she was very old and very little, and we had all of her bags in a pile, and she moved like 10 feet, and went back and forth with her bag,” McKay says. “And I was trying to figure out what she was doing. So she moved 10 feet, moved the bags, moved 10 feet, moved the bags … And at first it was a bit irritating, but I realized that those bags were everything she owned. That was, that was all she had now. So she was very protective of her life and those plastic bags. So seeing, you know, an 85 or 90-year-old person, when their life has just been boiled down to like, five plastic bags. It’s pretty tough to watch.”
McKay is currently in Ukraine, the ninth time he’s been there since retiring and deciding that he wanted to help the country after it was invaded by the Russian military in February 2022. This is his second trip this year, going over earlier in September. He has done a variety of jobs during his visits, but this time he is working directly with evacuees, something he had hoped to do right from the start.
“My goal when I first went over there was work on an evacuation crew,” he said. “And so, after seven trips, I made it on the evacuation crew.”
He is working with a group called East SOS in Pavlograd. The group is made up of professionals from many avenues of life. They help with busloads of people, like senior citizens or young families.
A lot of the evacuees have mobility issues and need assistance getting on and off the buses and moved to trains.
“It’s pretty tough work but it’s helping mobility challenged people. Whatever we can do. We’ve got carrying aids, we’re carrying seats and wheelchairs and stretchers and we load them up as we can and get them on their way.”
The transfer points are right in the face of the war.
“It’s getting hit by Kinzhal missiles and drones pretty well every day. Yeah, it’s active, very, very noisy but I’m working with a good crew. They’re awesome.”
McKay acknowledges the physicality of the work but says it’s probably more emotionally demanding. The psychological impact often hits you later.
“It’s not scary at the time but then when you come home and you digest it, that’s when you start. That’s when it creates a little bit more of a frightening feel to it.”
On a recent trip, he was on a train when somebody fired an exploding round into it.
“It came through probably 20 feet away from me and blew up in the train hall, right? Like right in front of us … It didn’t register until a couple days later.”
McKay draws inspiration from the people he works with. He’s worked with Ukrainian Patriot in the past and through the connections he’s developed over the last four years, he’s joined up with East SOS.
“I’ve made some amazing contacts and I tell you, the people I’ve met are just (incredible), it’s probably the biggest impact on my life. I’m 61 years old and the last four years has been pretty, pretty huge in my development and experiences in life.
“So these are people that love their life, value their life, but they also risk it by helping others. And they’re not looking for, you know, glory, or, you know, (to be) a hero … they’re just doing it because they know what’s right, and they’re available to do it. And I think some people have a thicker skin. They can deal with some of this tough stuff.”
McKay has written a book about his experiences and it reflects his feelings towards his compatriots. It’s entitled “My Time With Heroes” and he will donate the proceeds from the book to Ukraine. (Find it on Amazon or email darrellontheisland@gmail.com)
He hopes to keep the conflict in people’s minds and drive support towards the country. He’s proud of Canada’s role in the conflict and notes that Ukrainians love Canadians.
“(When) they know I’m Canadian, right away that door opens up.”
McKay believes he’s on the right side of history and he’s still fit and able so he’ll keep doing this for a while. But the plight of the elderly is a particular motivation for him.
“I think my weakness is seeing the old people. Yeah that definitely weighs heavy with me. Seeing the old people go through this. I met a 94-year-old lady. She was in a refugee center and I came back seven months later and she was in the same refugee center. So you know, she’s spending the last of her days, you know, in a room for 15 people, bunking down at night with everybody, rather than in her pretty little home.”