Hassan, an 11-year-old had left his house in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia all by himself, looking for a safe location, away from the chaos of shelling and gunfire at what he called 'home'. His mother put him on a train and stayed back to take care of her mother. Hassan was helped by customs officials at the border.
The little boy, who is now called a 'true hero' traveled over 1,200 km to Slovakia all by himself. All he had was a red backpack, a passport, and a relative's phone number written on the back of his hand.
Volunteers helped him as soon as he got down the train, and gave him food and drinks. A Slovak official wrote on his Facebook that Hassan had won over everyone at the border with his smile, fearlessness, and determination.
The official said he had used a phone number written on the boy's hand, as well as a piece of paper he had in his pocket, to contact relatives in the Slovak capital who came to pick him up.
The phone number was written on the back of his hand.
Hassan's mother later released a video on Facebook and thanked the volunteers for taking care of the little boy.
“I am very grateful that they saved the life of my child,” she said. “In your small country, there are people with big hearts.”
“I am a widow and I have more children. I want to thank the Slovak customs and volunteers who took care of my son and helped him cross the border. I am grateful you have saved my child’s life. Next to my town is a nuclear power plant that the Russians are shooting at. I couldn’t leave my mother – she can’t move on her own.”
“The boy was cared for by many, be it policemen, soldiers, customs officers or volunteers, and various religious or civil organizations," reported news agency AFP quoting officials.
Hassan's hometown, Zaporizhzhia is Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. Russian troops attacked the plant, which supplies over 20% of Ukraine's electricity on Friday. They have taken over control of the facility, leaving many others like Hassan with no other choice but to flee the country.
United Nations on Tuesday said that over 2 million have fled the war-torn country. Russia's invasion has triggered the fasting-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war, the head of the UN’s refugee agency had said.
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