Misha, “Prosecutor”, Alla, Ruslana...

The young occupants of the basement come “to the surface” as seldom as possible.

Alexander Osipov, April 2002

Our street patrol found 15 children, aged 10-17, who stay in one of the filthy underground maintenance basements of the city. We have taken them every day food and tried to do for them all we can.

A series of passwords and signs leads to a dark and fusty underground world

When we were taken to the basement for the first time, we were told that you cannot enter there just like that. There are signs subsequent to each other that you have to know.
We had to knock a certain signal on the heavy iron door. After some time we were requested to give the password. It was bloodcurdling “666”. As a reply from behind the door we heard “Prosecutor”. The door was opened and we stepped into a narrow, dark tunnel. The only source of light was a dim light bulb far ahead.

Occupants of basement
chambers

The children stay and sleep in narrow, low chambers through which pass different water pipes. The basement has no windows and the air is terribly fusty. The young occupants have laid on the floor a carpet on which they sleep. There is also a broken bed, a cooking plate, a self-installed electric wire, a cassette player found from the trash. The walls are humid and moldy.

The children are sick, dirty, without a possibility to change their situation. One chamber is used for all trash. “We don’t dare to take the trash out, because the people might see us and we could lose this place”, they say.

Misha, the leader of the group

The children and youth of the basement have elected for themselves a leader who they obey. He is 16-year old Misha who seems to be a sensible boy. He and his younger brother come from Moldova. — If our economy here in the Ukraine is off the rails, in Moldova the situation is catastrophic. Children flee from there to Ukraine and Russia.

Misha and the others sniff glue and use drugs, some of them more, some less.

Cross and the switchblade — companions in misfortune in New York

For those who can read we have taken some books, such as “The Cross and the Switchblade” that describes the life of New York street gangs. We wrote a following note inside of the book:
“Dear Friend! When you hold this book in your hand, remember that your life is not without value. We love you and pray for you. Read this book carefully. You too can find a way out of the darkness where you live now and to begin a new life. God hears you if you sincerely turn to him.”
We also took for these kids tapes with Christian youth music that deals with street life topics such as alcohol, drugs, prostitution, abortions, crimes, hatred. One of the boys liked these songs so much that he told us he was going to learn to play them on the guitar.

The youth fight for their dungeon

Nobody knows for how long these kids will be able to stay in their underground hiding place. In practice, nobody watches over the basements.
The police have come two times and tried to chase the kids away. However, the young occupants of the basement simply haven’t let the police in but have done everything to defend their home. — As gloomy as it may be, for these kids it is the only safe place they have.