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BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'I must look after mum now': Summer camp for children of Ukraine's missing
The day Russia's full-scale invasion began, Dima's dad told him he might never see him again."The building in our street got blown up. Dad said, 'I'm going to do everything I can so that you can live a normal life.'" Days later, Dima's father had joined the military and left for the front Dima is sharing memories of his dad with 49 other Ukrainian children. Sitting around a campfire, they hold candles to commemorate their missing loved gentle slopes of Ukraine's Carpathian mountains, smothered in brilliant green spruce and fir trees, stretch into the distance. It's a striking backdrop for this heartbreaking scene. We're in the relative safety of western Ukraine, Russian bombs rarely fall here. A little girl talks about when the full-scale invasion began. "The first time we got bombed, my hands were shaking and I was crying," she says. "It took me a long time to cope with that."This campfire activity is a kind of group therapy session. It's part of a pioneering summer camp for a very special group of Ukrainian children, those with a parent who have disappeared during the war. Some are soldiers missing in action on the front line, presumed dead. Some are in captivity or trapped in occupied areas. The Ukrainian government says more than 70,000 people are officially listed as charity that runs the camp, helps thousands of traumatised children across Ukraine and runs several summer camps. But this is the first for this category of children, and the BBC was given exclusive access."Many of these children have multiple traumas because not only are their fathers missing, but some of them have uncles and grandmothers missing too," explains Vanui Martirosyan, lead psychologist at the charity. "They're living like in a frozen state. They cannot plan something in the future because they do not know what the future will bring. And we cannot work with them like with children with actual loss, because they do not have this point of starting grieving."She says many of the children spend hours trawling Russian social media channels, desperately searching for information about their family members. The channels often contain violent content related to the war."They feel fear of crying, they think that if they start crying it will continue for forever. This type of trauma is maybe the most difficult to work with."The day after the campfire meeting, I speak to Dima, who wants to tell me more about his dad. The last time he heard from him was the day before he disappeared in November 2023. "He sent a video of them all drinking tea in the forest and wrote me a message saying, 'Everything's fine, I'll call you tomorrow,'" Dima next day, Dima's mum got a phone call saying his dad was missing in action. "I started calling his mobile. Dad didn't answer. That was it. I was sitting there and I started crying. I realised I wouldn't see my dad for a while." During all our interviews with the children, including with Dima, a psychologist was present."I kept hoping until the end that Dad is a prisoner of war somewhere. Even now I still hope," Dima trauma only intensified after his mum began to look into the circumstances of his dad's disappearance. Initially she was told by the military that her husband was missing following an airstrike on his position."Then someone else called mum, the chief of something-or-other, and said the Russians shot everyone, and someone saw Dad's body lying there without any legs. Then another soldier who was at Dad's position said they saw him dead, with shrapnel wounds to the head."Dima says the effect on both him and his mother was profound."Mum cried a lot because of that. I supported her," Dima says. "When Dad left, he said, 'Dima, no matter what happens you must look after Mum because you're a man, and you're her son."'Group therapy at the camp takes place daily, held in small rooms. We are allowed to observe the start of one of the sessions - the rest is psychologists, Olena, shows a colour chart to the children, used to describe emotions. Green is happy, blue is sad, yellow is anxious or overstimulated, and red is they'll be discussing sadness. The more unpleasant and sad we feel, says Olena, the more we love the people we are sad about. That shows these people are important to us. The children are encouraged to express their feelings, including through art. At an art therapy session, many of the paintings show happy families, houses and seven-year-old boy, Zahar, tells me his painting is called "Daddy comes home." It shows yellow stick men in front of a blue sky - the colours of the Ukrainian of the children live in cities that come under near-constant bombardment by Russian drones and missiles. Like 16-year-old Nastia's hometown of Kharkiv, in the north-east of Ukraine, close to the frontline."If there's bombing nearby, I go and shelter in the corridor. I worry and stress a lot," Nastia father was also a soldier. He disappeared around a year ago on the frontline. She last saw him two weeks before he went missing.I ask her what memories of your father she has and her eyes glisten."He was very kind, he spoilt me a lot. He had a sweet tooth like me, and always knew what treats to buy me," Nastia says. "I remember only the good things about Dad. The only sad thing I remember is that he disappeared."I love him very much and I know he loves me too," she continues, adding, "I hope we can make new memories with him again."This camp also offers the kids a chance to catch up on sleep, uninterrupted by air-raid sirens - and to just have fun and play. There are regular trips to the swimming pool, hikes and games of volleyball."It's important for the body to make movements in order to heal the trauma," explains head psychologist Vanui. At the camp closing ceremony, it's time for the children and staff to say boy, Ilya, is in floods of tears - he doesn't want to go home."We have a child like this in every camp," smiles Oksana Lebedieva, the founder of points to the throngs of children playing in the garden. "Maybe for the first time in their lives, they've found people who went through the same experience. And it's very important. Group therapy is more important than anything - to see you're not alone with the pain."Oksana says the scale of the task facing her charity is overwhelming. "Millions of Ukrainian children are traumatised by war. This is a humanitarian catastrophe." Additional reporting by John Murphy
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Tourist who attempted to feed brown bear is mauled to death
An Italian tourist was mauled to death by a brown bear in Romania a day after making a post on Facebook that showed close encounters with bears, including a selfie with a cub. Omar Farang Zin, 49, was touring on his motorcycle in the Carpathian Mountains on the famous Transfagarasan Highway on Thursday when he stopped next to a sign that warned tourists not to feed the bears, according to Observator News, Romania's leading news agency, and the BBC. 'He got off his motorcycle and offered the bear food,' Armand Chiriloiu, the director of the Arges Forestry Directorate, told Observator News. The bear attacked Zin and dragged him down a steep ravine with an elevation drop of 262 feet, the BBC reported. Tourists alerted the police and emergency services. 'Unfortunately, he was already dead when we arrived,' Ion Sanduloiu, head of the Arges County Mountain Rescue Service, told the BBC. 'The injuries were extremely severe. Even though he was wearing a helmet and full protective gear, it wasn't enough.' The police, emergency services and forestry officials who responded to the scene found themselves in danger of the same bear. 'The bear followed us the whole time,' Dragos Onea of the Arges County Mountain Rescue Service told Observator News. 'She was very agitated. She attacked us a few times too. We also had [hunters] from Silvic. They were pointing their rifles at her the whole time.' The hunters ultimately killed the aggressive bear, and police patrolled the area to chase tourists away. The day before the attack, Zin posted a photo album of the bear encounters on his Facebook page. Romania is home to the largest brown bear population in the European Union with the country's environmental ministry estimating it to be upwards of 12,800 bears, according to the BBC. Tourists from all over Europe travel to this area specifically to see bears in the wild. The environment ministry said that nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last 20 years, the Daily Mail reported. Last July, a 19-year-old girl was killed in a violent bear attack in the Bucegi mountains in central Romania. A few months before that, a 72-year-old tourist from Scotland was mauled by a bear in Arges county after rolling down her car window to take a photo of the animal, according to The Independent. 'A very large population has finally lost its fear of humans,' Ovidiu Ionescu, a forestry expert, told Observator News. 'The natural habitats in Romania can support around 4,000 bears. So we have an overpopulation that leads to all these accidents.' Selfie photo by Omar Farang Zin. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tourist who attempted to feed brown bear is mauled to death
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Tourist who attempted to feed brown bear is mauled to death
An Italian tourist was mauled to death by a brown bear in Romania a day after making a post on Facebook that showed close encounters with bears, including a selfie with a cub. Omar Farang Zin, 49, was touring on his motorcycle in the Carpathian Mountains on the famous Transfagarasan Highway on Thursday when he stopped next to a sign that warned tourists not to feed the bears, according to Observator News, Romania's leading news agency, and the BBC. 'He got off his motorcycle and offered the bear food,' Armand Chiriloiu, the director of the Arges Forestry Directorate, told Observator News. The bear attacked Zin and dragged him down a steep ravine with an elevation drop of 262 feet, the BBC reported. Tourists alerted the police and emergency services. 'Unfortunately, he was already dead when we arrived,' Ion Sanduloiu, head of the Arges County Mountain Rescue Service, told the BBC. 'The injuries were extremely severe. Even though he was wearing a helmet and full protective gear, it wasn't enough.' The police, emergency services and forestry officials who responded to the scene found themselves in danger of the same bear. 'The bear followed us the whole time,' Dragos Onea of the Arges County Mountain Rescue Service told Observator News. 'She was very agitated. She attacked us a few times too. We also had [hunters] from Silvic. They were pointing their rifles at her the whole time.' The hunters ultimately killed the aggressive bear, and police patrolled the area to chase tourists away. The day before the attack, Zin posted a photo album of the bear encounters on his Facebook page. Romania is home to the largest brown bear population in the European Union with the country's environmental ministry estimating it to be upwards of 12,800 bears, according to the BBC. Tourists from all over Europe travel to this area specifically to see bears in the wild. The environment ministry said that nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last 20 years, the Daily Mail reported. Last July, a 19-year-old girl was killed in a violent bear attack in the Bucegi mountains in central Romania. A few months before that, a 72-year-old tourist from Scotland was mauled by a bear in Arges county after rolling down her car window to take a photo of the animal, according to The Independent. 'A very large population has finally lost its fear of humans,' Ovidiu Ionescu, a forestry expert, told Observator News. 'The natural habitats in Romania can support around 4,000 bears. So we have an overpopulation that leads to all these accidents.' Selfie photo by Omar Farang Zin. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tourist who attempted to feed brown bear is mauled to death
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Telegraph
Tourist took selfie with bear ... before being mauled to death
A tourist in Romania was mauled to death by a bear the day after he posed for a selfie with the wild animals. Omar Farang Zin, 48, who travelling in the Carpathian Mountains, was dragged 60 yards down a steep gully and killed by a female bear after reportedly taking photos of the animal with its three cubs. A day earlier, the Italian took several photos of a sleuth of bears by the side of a road, including a picture of himself with one of the animals a few yards behind him. He also took a video of himself driving past a bear standing by the roadside, saying: 'Look at the bear, how beautiful.' There has been an increasing number of bear attacks in the region in recent years as the country struggles to control its growing bear population. Romania has the largest population of brown bears in the European Union, with conservationists estimating there are between 10,000 and 13,000 roaming the country's forests and mountains. Forestry officers say that there are more than 110 bears living in the Carpathian Mountains when the optimal number should be around 25. In one 24-hour period in May, there were three attacks in the mountains. A 74-year-old Spanish woman was mauled by a bear as she took a photograph from her car with the window down. A Polish and a German tourist were also attacked in separate incidents. There are signs in the area, in English as well as Romanian, warning people not to feed or get too close to wild bears. In 2024, Romania's parliament doubled the number of bears that can legally be killed each year to 481, in an attempt to curb the population. But wildlife groups blamed the country's bear problem on human behaviour. Cristian Papp, from WWF Romania, told The Telegraph: 'The problem is not too many bears but the fact that we have more and more bears that are accustomed to the presence of humans and associate humans with food availability. 'For instance, hunters put out corn for wild boars but that attracts bears. Many times I have seen bears feeding on corn alongside roe deer and red deer. And tourists feed bears so they can take selfies with them. That needs to stop.'
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Tourist is dragged into a ravine and killed by bear after posing for selfie with its cub in Romania
A motorcyclist was mauled to death by a bear in Romania on Thursday after posing for a selfie with its cub. Italian tourist Omar Farang Zin, 49, was riding on his motorbike along the Carpathian Mountains in the central region of Arges when a vicious bear attacked him and dragged his body down a ravine. Police and emergency services said in a joint statement that tourists had alerted them to yesterday's attack, and after an hour of searching for him, they found Omar's lifeless body. Just a day before the tragic incident, the motorcyclist had posted a series of pictures on Facebook of a large bear which appears to be stood extremely close to Omar. He also shared a selfie posing with a bear cub, in which he can be seen smiling, blissfully unaware of his tragic fate. A separate video taken by Omar shows him riding his motorcycle as he drives past a bear perched on the side of the road. 'Here's the bear!', he can be heard saying. 'How beautiful. It's coming towards me'. Romanian authorities later confirmed that the bear had been put down. Omar, a travel-enthusiast, had been working for Milan Malpensa airport just before his death, according to Italian media. Dozens of friends have taken to Facebook to pay tribute to him. 'Goodbye Omar, I will always remember you with a smile', one friend wrote. Another said: 'Omar was a great man, he didn't have to go this way'. One pal described Omar as 'everyone's friend because everyone loved you'. The tourist's horrific death is the latest bear-related fatality in Romania. Last year, a teenage girl was killed in a violent bear attack after the enraged animal dragged her away and dropped her 330ft down a cliff while she went hiking with her boyfriend. The 19-year-old was hiking in the Bucegi mountains in central Romania last July when she was savaged by the bear in front of her horrified partner. According to her boyfriend, the bear first grabbed the teen's leg and hauled her off the path before throwing her down the cliff. When rescuers arrived on the scene, they found the snarling beast circling her body. Romania has a brown bear population of 10,000 to 13,000, preliminary results of a multi-year DNA study showed this year, and authorities are struggling to keep residents and tourists in mountain towns safe. Almost 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last two decades, according to the environment ministry. Sightings of bears are common and local media regularly report bear attacks on people and livestock. Last year, Romania's parliament doubled the annual bear kill quota to 481 bear kills per year to control the size of the bear population and to remove animals that have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food. Wildlife experts have said bear attacks have increased because of human behaviour as the shrinking of the animals' habitats due to construction, logging and climate change. Many bears are also attracted by rubbish dumps on the outskirts of cities and by discarded food.
