ウクライナのパラリンピアン、占領された都市から苦難の脱出

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】自身の車いすを膝の上に乗せ、ウクライナのパラパワーリフティング世界女王ライサ・トポルコワは、ロシア占領下のエネルホダルを夫や友人と一緒に脱出した。（写真はライサ・トポルコワ）
　皆家をなくしたが、ユーモアのセンスはなくさなかった。安全を求め、トポルコワと危険な道のりを旅したエフヘニー・ラジコフさんは「ロシア軍に追われていたとしても、こちらには少なくとも身を守るつえはある」と冗談を飛ばす。
　障害がある友人たちと１台の車に乗り込んだトポルコワは、いくつもの検問所を１２時間かけてくぐり抜け、欧州最大の原子力発電所がある南東部のエネルホダルを脱出した。
　南東部ザポリージャでＡＦＰのインタビューに応じたトポルコワは、「何かが起こっていたとしても、車から出るのは不可能だった」と話し、「膝の上には車いすがあったし、歩くのにつえが必要な人も２人いた」と続けた。
　２月２４日にロシアによる侵攻が始まって以来、１０００万人以上のウクライナ国民が避難したが、脱出は長く困難な道のりになることも多く、障害のある人たちにとってはほぼ不可能だった。
　筋骨格系の成長障害によって、人生のほぼすべてを車いすで過ごしてきたトポルコワは、ロシアに占領されてから１か月で、エネルホダルの状況は急速に悪化していったと話す。外にはほとんど出られず、平屋の自宅には地下室もないため、度重なる爆発から身を守るのも難しかった。原子力発電所をめぐる攻防の激化で、致命的な放射能漏れが起こる可能性もあった。
　脱出の道が閉ざされるかもしれないと不安になったトポルコワは、同じく障害がある夫と３月２８日にエネルホダルを抜け出した。そこにラジコフさんと匿名希望の妻という、脳性まひのある夫婦も加わった。

■「ひっきりなしに砲撃」

　トポルコワは「膝の上に車いすがある状態で、周囲はひっきりなしに砲撃されていた。ここで殺されるんじゃないかとみんな怖くなったし、検問に近づくと爆発音はさらに大きくなった」と言う。
　郊外でマイクロバスが故障したときには、脱出のチャンスは絶たれたかに思われたが、赤十字のボランティアの助けで何とか別の車に乗り移れた。ところが支援団体からは、移動がままならないため、多くの人は逃げ出すことも、避難場所を見つけることもできないと言われたという。
　結局、１００台以上も並んだ車のうち、抜け出せたのは１台か２台だった。検問という難所もあったため、普段なら２時間で行ける距離に１２時間を要した。ラジコフさんは「三つの結末があり得た。一つが砲弾を浴びること、もう一つが渋滞にはまって救出不可能になること、そしてもう一つが脱出に成功することで、幸運にもそれが現実になった」と話した。
　トポルコワは１９年前にパワーリフティングを始め、２度の世界チャンピオンに輝き、昨年夏の東京パラリンピックでは５位に入った。
　しかし、２月下旬に侵攻が始まってからはトレーニングができず、ジムは閉鎖され、仕事も生計を立てる手段も失うことに直面した。以前は２時間の練習を週に３回行っていた。
　「練習できないのが１週間ならまだいいが、２週間だとひどいことになる。それまで１００キロを挙げられていたとすれば、それだけ空くと８０キロしか挙がらなくなる」
　「練習できなければ結果も出なくなるし、そうなれば国際大会にも招待されなくなる」
　現在のトポルコワは、ジムへ戻れることを期待して、西部のリビウに向かった。トポルコワは「トレーニング再開が待ちきれない」と話している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/04/15-12:47）

With her wheelchair perched on her lap, Ukrainian world champion powerlifter Raisa Toporkova escaped with friends from the occupied city of Enerhodar where Russian forces were shelling Europe's largest nuclear power facility.
They had lost their homes, but not their sense of humour.
If the Russians came after us, at least we have our sticks to defend ourselves, joked Yevhenii Razikov, who has cerebral palsy and shared the perilous journey to safety.
Crammed into a car with several others with special needs, Toporkova spent 12 hours negotiating a series of checkpoints to flee the city in southern Ukraine.
It would be impossible to get out of the car if something happened, Toporkova, who was fifth at last year year's Tokyo Paralympics, told AFP in the regional capital Zaporizhzhia.
My wheelchair was on me and two of the others need a stick to walk.
More than 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since Russia invaded on February 24, but for people with disabilities, the often long and difficult journey can be an almost impossible undertaking.
Russian troops shelled Enerhodar, the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, in early March, causing a fire, which was eventually put out.
The attack led to international outrage with memories still fresh of the 1986 explosion at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the world's worst nuclear accident.
Toporkova, who has been in a wheelchair for most of her life due to a musculoskeletal growth disorder, said the situation was deteriorating fast in Enerhodar after a month under Russian control.
She was barely able to go out and her first-floor home had no basement to take shelter from the many explosions.
Food supplies were running low and prices had risen by as much as four times. Pharmacies were out of vital prescription medicines.
Another uptick in violence at the nuclear plant could mean a lethal radiation leak.
Worried that the opportunity to leave could close, Toporkova fled on Monday with husband Anton Vavryshchuk, 37, who is also physically disabled.
They were joined by their friends, Razikov and his wife, who did not want to be identified. Both have cerebral palsy.
- Shelling constantly -
My wheelchair was on our lap and there was shelling constantly. We were scared we would be killed there and the explosions got even louder when we reached the checkpoint, Toporkova said.
After their minibus broke down on the outskirts of the city they were worried their chance was gone, but a Red Cross volunteer managed to transfer them to a car.
Yet at one checkpoint, they were held for seven hours.
It was a long and painful wait for the group, whose physical difficulties were exacerbated by long periods of sitting in a car.
There are more than seven million people aged 60 or older in Ukraine and 2.7 million people with disabilities, according to the European Disability Forum.
Advocacy groups have warned that many would not be able to escape or seek shelter due to lack of mobility.
Out of a column of more than 100 cars, the group said they were eventually one of only two vehicles that were allowed to pass. The journey took 12 hours instead of the usual two because of difficulties at checkpoints.
There were three possible outcomes: one is that we got hit by the shelling, another is we got stuck and then who could possibly save us. The third is that we got out, and thankfully that's what happened, said Razikov.
- Two-time world champion -
Toporkova started powerlifting 19 years ago and is a two-time world champion.
She has not been able to train since the war began in late February and gyms closed and she also faced losing her job and means to earn a living if she stayed. She used to do three two-hour sessions a week.
If I don't train for one week, it's OK, but two weeks is terrible, she said. Let's say I could lift 100 kilograms before, after that time I would only be able to lift 80kg.
I'm losing results if I'm not training and I won't get invited to international competitions anymore.
Now she is heading to Lviv in western Ukraine and hopes to be able to return to the gym.
I cannot wait to start training again.