Sofia's Choice: A Ukrainian Diary, One Year Later

Radio Diaries

Radio Diaries & Radiotopia

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2023

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sofia Bretl has lived in New York City for the last decade. But she was born and raised in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, about 25 miles from the Russian border. The city has received some of the worst shelling so far in the war. That’s where her mother lived when war broke out. As conditions in Kharkiv worsened, they faced a difficult choice.

Music in today’s episode includes the Ukrainian band Dakha Brakha — playing at San Francisco Jazz Center on March 14th. Proceeds and donations go to organizations supporting Ukraine. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions and Dakh Daughters.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Last day is a show about the moments that change us.
0:03.0	I just don't think I will ever get used to this.
0:06.0	I'm Stephanie Little's Wax, and I have had one of these moments.
0:10.0	We all have.
0:11.0	So let's unpack the chaos that is our human existence together.
0:14.5	I don't believe things happen for a reason.
0:16.5	I don't believe the universe has a plan.
0:18.5	Each week, I sit down with a new guest to explore happy, sad stories of transformation.
0:24.0	It's leaning far, far into the pain. That's what it is.
0:27.5	Listen to last day wherever you get your podcasts.
0:31.5	Radio Tapia.
0:34.5	From PRX.
0:36.5	From PRX's Radio Tapia, this is Radio Diaries. I'm Joe Richmond.
0:40.5	Today, we're bringing you a story we first had on the show one year ago.
0:48.5	In times of war, one of the most difficult decisions people face is whether to leave.
0:53.5	To abandon their homes, their possessions, their memories, sometimes leaving loved ones behind.
0:59.5	According to the UN, more than 12 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since the war began.
1:05.5	More than 5 million of those have left the country.
1:07.5	The rest are thought to be displaced within Ukraine itself.
1:11.5	Sophia Bretel is 34 and has lived in New York City for the last decade.
1:16.5	But she was born and raised in the Ukrainian city of Harkiv, about 25 miles from the Russian border.
1:23.5	And that's where her mother was living when the war broke out a year ago.
	...

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