Re:Kharkiv Rubyist during the war: We are still here
by Fnoord on Friday March 18, 2022 @10:50AM
(#30723002)
Not only that, also having to power up their devices, and something like internet is a key to entertainment and information for children. If they wouldn't have smartphones, they'd ask for directions, and also directions are already there as well. But with it, there's a whole lot more possible, without having to rely on external factors (except data connection perhaps, as well as having the map loaded up). It makes me wonder if an old smartphone is a good donation to a refugee.
For example over here in Bucharest (from where I'm from) I've started seeing lots and lots of Ukrainian mothers taking their kids for a walk in downtown Bucharest relying only on their mobile phone's map apps. What makes that possible is the smartphone itself, which, however bad-talked as a technology piece is really helpful when you're hundreds/thousands of kms away from your actual home, plus free voice and data plans that were provided by the local telecom companies to all Ukrainian refugees.
Again, I know it's not much (after all, many of the Ukrainians who remained at home face the much more dire prospect of actual Russian bombs) but imo I think that it's important that as a refugee mother with your kids after you in a foreign country you sort of gain the autonomy of respecting your daily ritual of walking with your kid(s) without being assisted by anyone else. This "stickiness" to normalcy (like walking your kids unassisted in a foreign city where you've just arrived one or two days prior while escaping war) it's what also makes life worth living, in a way.