A number of Ukrainian women who fled their homeland for Sweden following the outbreak of war last month have told local media they wish to return home over fears for their safety.
The Swedish news outlet Samnytt spoke with female Ukrainian refugees residing in the town of Örebro following an incident last week where foreign men entered their homes and tried to attack them.
“When there are bombs, I know at least that I can go down to the basement and hide there,” one victim told the news outlet.
Another woman who gave her name as Oksana spoke to Swedish public radio, saying, “They said that Sweden was a safe country, but I have not seen that.”
The women had arrived in Örebro in recent weeks with their children and were accommodated in a hostel. On Monday evening, several unknown males of foreign origin attempted to break in where Ukrainian women were staying with their children. The encounters were reported to the police.
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The Samnytt news portal spoke to one victim resident at the hostel and a female volunteer who works with them, who both wished to remain anonymous.
The first incident occurred at 3 a.m. when two Somali men started knocking on the front door of the hostel. Without opening the door, the Ukrainian woman tried to talk to the men outside.
“They looked like African Americans if I express myself politely,” one women told the news outlet. “They were black people. Tall and slim with black skin color.”
She explained to the men that only Ukrainian women and children live in the hostel, but the Somalis claimed that they have a friend who lives there. After asking what their friend’s name was, the Ukrainian woman figured out no person with that name was residing at the hostel.
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The men did not give up and after a while a third Somali man appeared outside the premises. The women found the situation uncomfortable and went into their rooms and locked themselves in again. However, one or more Somali men then managed to enter the hostel.
“They started knocking on the door of a woman who lives with her two small children, aged two and four. They were very scared,” the volunteer said of the children.
“The four-year-old was silent, but the two-year-old screamed,” she added.
At 5 a.m., a group reportedly of Arab origin arrived at the premises and attempted unsuccessfully to enter the hostel.
According to the volunteer, the women are scared of gang rape, which one of them says she has already experienced in Germany.
Despite initially trivializing the events, the hostel’s management has now employed security guards, with the Ukrainian refugees assured that they can contact staff or authorities if they feel unsafe.
Despite the measures put in place, there has not been a report filed at the Örebro police department. According to the volunteer, the Ukrainian women were too afraid to report the case.
An interpreter allegedly told the women that they may not call the police because they are not yet registered with the Swedish Migration Agency.
According to the volunteer, several women are so shaken by the night events that they regret fleeing to Sweden, with some even wishing they had stayed in war-torn Ukraine.
The incident in Sweden follows after two migrants raped an 18-year-old Ukrainian refugee girl in Germany just last week.
