Extract from ABC News
Maryna Sliusar fled Ukraine more than a year ago.
But even in the idyllic surroundings of country Victoria, she cannot forget the horrors of war.
"At night, while standing at the entrance to the bomb shelter, we would listen to all the noises," she says.
"Somewhere not too far away, there was automatic gunfire.
"In the distance, a plane flew and then, first, a white glow followed by a powerful explosion on the right bank."
Ms Sliusar, who is from Kyiv, now lives in Shepparton with her 16-year-old son, Vladyslav.
As the war back home rages on, her story is one of the many tales of survival.
Alisa Khokul'a visited the Goulburn Valley this week to catch up with a friend in Kerang.
Last year, as the Russians approached Kherson, her family escaped to Vienna.
With her husband working overseas as a seaman on a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean, Ms Khokul'a made the decision to flee in the middle of the night with her two daughters.
But she says she didn't have the strength to carry any luggage as they raced to the Polish border to get to safety.
"I didn't take any food with us. We had only water," Ms Khokul'a says.
"And the queues on the petrol stations were enormous. We couldn't stand there and wait for four or five hours."
But the long drive to safety took its toll.
"I was so tired. I was driving the car [for] 13 hours in a row," Ms Khokul'a says.
"I remember standing on the roadside looking for some snow to rub it into my eyes in order to make me a little bit awake.
"It was so dangerous because I had kids. When I think about it, I don't believe I could handle it."
Ms Khokul'a says it was only about three hours after they left their hometown that the Russians arrived.
She says her mother is still in Ukraine.
But her father remains unknown after his military ship was shelled.
"But we don't have his body. There is still a hope. We're still searching for him," Ms Khokul'a says.
"Maybe we will receive some information. Maybe he's somewhere in prison."
'I want to be happy'
She says she has mixed emotions about escaping the conflict while the rest of the country is suffering.
"I am proud that I'm Ukranian," Ms Khokul'a says.
"I'm so happy that we showed the whole world what it is to be Ukranian and to fight until the end.
"I'm proud to be my father's daughter."
But Ms Khokul'a says being a refugee is hard.
"Sometimes, unfortunately, I have a feeling that I'm ashamed of being Ukrainian because people don't understand that we haven't chosen this life," she says.
"We were forced to leave the house … I have a feeling that I'm not allowed to be happy because I'm a refugee.
"But I want to be happy. I have only one life, and I've paid so much to live it."
Life in Australia offers hope
Like her fellow countrywoman, Maryna Sliusar's parents are still in Ukraine.
But despite the trauma of leaving her home behind, she, too wants to be happy.
Ms Silusar, who arrived in the country in May 2022, several weeks after the invasion began, now dreams of rebuilding her life in Australia.
For the past few months, she has been learning English through Shepparton's GOTAFE vocational education provider.
Ms Sliusar says she is eager to learn the language, history and culture of the country that has taken her in.
"A life of permeant residency in Australia — this is my perfect picture," Ms Sliusar says.
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