{"id":2823,"date":"2026-03-03T20:39:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/reportaje\/a-second-at-home\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T12:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T12:07:15","slug":"a-second-at-home","status":"publish","type":"reportaje","link":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/reportage\/a-second-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"A Second at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Serhiy, the soldier who forgot what life looks like. In the report \"A Second at Home, as Long as the Eternity of War\" <\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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<\/span>By Alina B\u0103d\u0103lan<\/span><\/p>

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AFTER 6 MONTHS IN HELL, SERHIY RETURNED HOME<\/span>. A poor<\/span> household, <\/span>but for<\/span> him <\/span>it’s a palace. <\/span>His wife is there<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>his <\/span>children are there. <\/span>The report by journalists <\/span>Viorica Tataru and Andrei Captarenco<\/span> <\/span>is sharp as a knife. The camera follows Serhiy in the most intimate moments: <\/span>family banter with his wife, personal conversations with his child, and then his own thoughts<\/span>. <\/span> <\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>“<\/span>I <\/span>missed this beauty so much, my native village, my home<\/span>… I’m <\/span>worried <\/span>about my family<\/span>, the <\/span>children are still young. I would like to<\/span> <\/span>raise them<\/span>. I am against recruiting children.<\/span> <\/span>An 18-year-old boy, yes, he’s young, healthy, he’ll run, he’ll shoot<\/span>. But <\/span>there you need brains and experience more than the ability to shoot<\/span>“<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>(Serhiy)<\/span><\/div>

There,<\/span> meaning at war. <\/span>A word that <\/span>Serhiy <\/span>avoids <\/span>saying. <\/span>He sits at the table with his boy <\/span>and <\/span>says he <\/span>doesn’t want to sadden him:<\/span><\/p>

– <\/span>Why don’t you want to tell us what happened <\/span>there?<\/span><\/div>
– <\/span>Because I don’t want to burden you with all kinds of nonsense. <\/span>You don’t need it<\/span>, <\/span>there’s nothing good <\/span>there.<\/span><\/div>

And i<\/span>f<\/span> his heart would let him<\/span> tell more, perhaps he would tell<\/span> him<\/span> for starters h<\/span>ow the enlistment was, how<\/span> he waited three days for assignment<\/span> and slept <\/span>in a tent in a forest near Chernihiv, how he <\/span>dug trenches at the training center and<\/span>, finally,<\/span> how he began repairing combat equipment in the mechanized battalion where<\/span> he was sent. <\/span>Then perhaps he would <\/span>tell <\/span>what this <\/span>the<\/span>re<\/span>, <\/span>looks like, but <\/span>without details, <\/span>perhaps <\/span>he would pack everything into <\/span>two <\/span>words<\/span> from which the boy <\/span>would<\/span> <\/span>under<\/span>stand <\/span>everything<\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>“<\/span>T<\/span>here<\/span> <\/span>very few people with initiative remain. B<\/span>ecause s<\/span>imply put, those with initiative are no longer alive<\/span>“<\/span>. <\/span> <\/p>

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“MY SOUL HURTS, AN<\/span>D <\/span>FOR MY COMRADES TOO. EVERYTHING IS TERRIFYING”<\/span><\/p>

Since he returned home on leave, Serhiy seems like a different man<\/span>, <\/span>his wife says.<\/span><\/p>

“<\/span>Until now we could talk about any subject. Now he looks<\/span> at <\/span>Tik<\/span>T<\/span>ok<\/span> and <\/span>tries not to get into e<\/span>m<\/span>otional subjects because <\/span>it’s <\/span>very hard for him.<\/span> <\/span>He suddenly became more mature and <\/span>more <\/span>serious, <\/span>with fewer jokes, <\/span>almost no fun<\/span>“<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>H<\/span>e rarely laughs<\/span> and<\/span> <\/span>doesn’t socialize much anymore<\/span>. <\/span> <\/p>

In<\/span> the first three week<\/span>s <\/span>he was in<\/span>–<\/span> a trance, unable <\/span>to do <\/span>anything, not even start the home renovations. <\/span>Then his wife forced his hand to <\/span>make him sna<\/span>p out of it<\/span>.<\/span>\u201c<\/span>I told him<\/span>: get up and do something around the house<\/span>! <\/span>I<\/span>‘ll call you every day and tell you to do <\/span>some <\/span>repairs<\/span>“<\/span>.<\/span> And that’s how<\/span> she got<\/span> him up. <\/span><\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>But when he doesn’t see her, she cries secretly: “<\/span>I <\/span>keep trying to keep myself busy with something<\/span>. <\/span>Even when I sew or knit, I don’t want to think about why I’m doing all this. <\/span>But I do it to help the soldiers. And I think that mine is also there, in the cold pits, in the trenches<\/span>. Cold and hungry.<\/span>.. you <\/span>don’t know what will happen next and how to live when you understand that you’re sending him to hell<\/span>?”.<\/span><\/div>

They would like to embrace at some point, but the camera is right in front of them<\/span>. And <\/span>they any<\/span>way, since Serh<\/span>iy has been at war, have forgotten what it’s like to be husband and wif<\/span>e, they no longer know what normal life mean<\/span>s with <\/span>its little details<\/span> <\/span>day by day<\/span>. <\/span> <\/p>

Before leaving for the front again, Serhiy looks at himself in the mirr<\/span>or. <\/span>He tries hard to hide the emotion of departure, but it seems to seep through his skin. <\/span>He’s pale, haggard<\/span> and <\/span>stares <\/span>motionless <\/span>at his own reflection. <\/span> <\/p>

\u2022 <\/span>“<\/span>Y<\/span>es, on the outside I haven’t changed much. But my soul hurts. It hurts for my comrades too. <\/span>Everything is terrifying. <\/span>I know what it’s like to return to hell. <\/span>I shouldn’t go back, but I will<\/span>“. <\/span> <\/div>

Then the camera follows him at length<\/span> as he puts on<\/span> his combat<\/span> <\/span>uniform<\/span>, <\/span>, how his hand trembles as he <\/span>places <\/span>in<\/span> the pocket over his heart the lucky charm given by his wife<\/span>, and<\/span> then <\/span>how<\/span> he <\/span>caresses<\/span> for the last <\/span>time<\/span> the family photo, <\/span>like an icon<\/span>: <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Well, mom, let’s say goodbye in the morning so I can leave without tears while you’re at work<\/span>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>

And Serhiy leaves, to enter from one life into another life.<\/span> <\/span>He leaves <\/span>for the place <\/span>he still <\/span>doesn’t dare<\/span> put <\/span>into words. <\/span>There.<\/span><\/p>

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Serhiy, the soldier who forgot what life looks like. In the report “A Second at Home, as Long as the Eternity of War” By Alina B\u0103d\u0103lan AFTER 6 MONTHS IN HELL, SERHIY RETURNED HOME. A poor household, but for him it’s a palace. His wife is there, his children are there. The report by journalists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2691,"template":"","reportaje_category":[],"class_list":["post-2823","reportaje","type-reportaje","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reportaje\/2823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reportaje"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reportaje"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reportaje\/2823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2824,"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reportaje\/2823\/revisions\/2824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"reportaje_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drumulrazboiului.md\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reportaje_category?post=2823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}