“I’m a boom.” This is how Ibrahim Mohamed, 71, introduces himself after stretching out his wiry hand to the reporter. He is a dark-skinned ascetic who has all the time in the world for conversation. A rare bird in Odessa, which is now being rocked by Russian bombs and where it is difficult to meet a foreigner who is not a humanitarian, soldier or journalist. Mohamed has been a constant traveler since 1977 – almost half a century. Not even the recent attacks on the Black Sea city where he lives – five in one week – have persuaded him to change his plans.
“I paid my rent through August 31,” he said early Sunday morning, shortly after multiple rockets landed near his dorm in the historic district. The life of this Egyptian-American woman is a constant aimless journey in which she enjoys freedom and happiness away from money. He was born in Alexandria (Egypt) and describes himself as a Nubian from Aswan. “I want to visit the Canary Islands and do the Camino de Santiago,” he said on July 13, recalling his visits to Spain, giving details like those of Seville that reveal a memory that is a testament to the years and kilometers he traveled. But what is he doing in wartime Ukraine?
Dream Hostel was a backpacker haven on the Black Sea coast when Russia launched its major invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Far from the luxuries offered by other Odessa hotels, its bunk beds, corridors decorated with colorful pennants, common areas, and narrow access through a neighboring courtyard made it the perfect place for globetrotters on a budget and not in a hurry. This is the case with Mohammed. When war shook Odessa, he was just another “dreamer” among those staying at the hostel, but he decided to stay.
“Early in the morning of February 24, my partner at Dream Hostel in Dnipro called me to say that the invasion had started. At seven in the morning none of the eight employees were there. “They were all gone and I was alone at the reception,” says Giorgi Bloshchitsia, the restaurant’s owner, leaning against the reception desk. At that time there were long-term travelers from Japan, the USA and Australia. “I estimate there were about 20 foreigners here when the invasion started. Of those, 17 left in the first week,” he adds. In the end, only Ibrahim Mohamed remained.
Giorgi Bloshchitsia and his wife Veronika pictured July 13 at the reception of the Dream Hostel, a few meters from the Orthodox Cathedral which was bombed by Russia on Sunday.Luis de Vega
“This is crazy,” laments this man, who recently cut off the dreadlocks that hung below his waist from his head and beard. “I can’t bear to see the kids running to get away from the bombs, but what can you do? This world is terrible, so many people are killing each other.”
The meeting with Ibrahim Mohamed took place a few days before the start of the Russian shelling of Odessa. He stands out among Ukrainians fleeing other war zones who have been staying at the hostel since it works with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), an NGO with extensive experience in crisis situations around the world. Mohamed explains that his life is a constant journey, “without haste and with long stops in between”. So he came to Ukraine in 2016, and the Russian invasion hit him in that very country. He emphasizes that among the dozens of countries he has visited – “the number is not important” – Russia is not one of them.
His income is limited to a US government pension. “I can survive here on a handful of dollars,” he admits. In the hostel you pay 2,800 Hrivna per month (just under 77 US dollars) for a place in a bunk bed. “I cook up there,” he says, pointing to the upper floors of the restaurant. “I always eat something simple,” he adds, underscoring his almost reclusive lifestyle.
The bunk beds of these backpackers have been occupied for months now by Ukrainians displaced by the war at home. About 7,000 people got through in those 17 months. “We now offer accommodation for 80 people. Many are temporary refugees from regions like Kherson or Mikolayiv (near Odessa) after those areas were liberated,” Bloshchitsia explains. The establishment was at its peak when local troops pushed into Kherson in last November’s counteroffensive, pushing the invaders back to the left bank of the Dnipro River. “We had up to 100 people at a time, some sleeping in the hallways,” he adds.
In general, these are people in transit who are rebuilding their lives far away from their hometowns. They usually stay in the dorm for about a month, the manager says, until they find rent, a job, or get their papers back to try to get their lives back to normal.
Giorgi Bloshchitsia regrets that the authorities left them alone after promising to help them run the hostel during the first months of the invasion. He claims that they were promised a collaboration that never materialized. “Zero,” I insist. “We made it through the first three months alone, with my wife, my mother and an employee,” he says. The situation only started to normalize when the NRC came into play.
NCR operates a facility with four transit centers for IDPs in Odessa, three of which belong to the three Dream Hostels in the Bloshchitsia franchise. Their capacity is 200 people and in case of emergency up to 250 people. In exceptional cases, they provide accommodation for up to a month. The NRC offers one hot meal per person per day, as well as free legal and psychological advice, explains Dimitri Zviadadze, head of the NRC zone in southern Ukraine.
The hostel manager shows the only thing they finally got from the authorities: a document thanking the hostel owners and staff for hosting the displaced, signed by Tetiana Markova, then head of culture and tourism of the Odessa City Council. Bloshchitsia and his wife Veronika can’t help but laugh as he puts it back on the reception desk with some mockery as if it were a treasure.
And what about Ibrahim Mohamed? The globetrotter wouldn’t mind moving on, but understands that his economic situation prevents him from settling in places beyond his modest budget. He reiterates several times that he would love to return to Spain, where he hasn’t been in more than a decade, although he doesn’t understand those who make the trip as a fast-paced weekend getaway.
When asked if the recent Russian bombing of Odessa had changed his plans, he simply said he didn’t know what to do on August 31. Shortly before, the invading army had attacked a dozen buildings in the city center (near Dream Hostel) and the Orthodox Cathedral, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since February. “I would like to go to the Canary Islands, Munich, the USA or Egypt… But maybe I’ll stay in Odessa anyway,” he dares. Though at one point he says he’s “tired and already on the retreat.” But it doesn’t appear to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bombing and war that dictated his itinerary.
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