"A typical Capricorn, so stubborn, says his wife, Sveta. It was 2015, the war in Donbas was growing in intensity. I heard someone on TV complaining that Roma aren't defending their homeland. This pissed me off, and so I volunteered, says Ilchak. In the territorial recruitment centre in Uzhhorod the Ukrainian soldiers were surprised, but they had to take him."
"Ilchak fought in Donbas and after the full-scale invasion also served around Mariupol. As a tank mechanic he was wounded four times and carries shrapnel from a Russian bomb in his arm. On his army jacket there shine several medals, including the Order for Courage, presented to him by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy."
"Ilchak and his family live in Radvanka, one of several Roma settlements in Uzhhorod, the capital of Transcarpathia, a Ukrainian province in the far west bordering Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Poland. It hosts the largest population of Roma in Ukraine. About 3,500 people live here, explains Myroslav Horvat, the only Roma councillor in the city."
Viktor Ilchak, a Roma man from Radvanka settlement in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, volunteered for military service in 2015 despite being exempt due to having three children. Motivated by frustration over stereotypes about Roma not defending their homeland, he joined the army and served as a tank mechanic in Donbas and around Mariupol, sustaining four wounds and carrying shrapnel. He received multiple honors including the Order for Courage from President Zelenskyy and recognition from the city council as the longest-serving Roma soldier. Radvanka hosts approximately 3,500 Roma people in poor living conditions with unpaved streets and limited infrastructure. After returning home in September, Ilchak focuses on family care and community support, planning to establish the Transcarpathian Roma association of combatants.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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