Growing Old in Displacement
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
What Ukraine's elderly remind us about home, dignity and recovery
With thanks to Elena Rogers for introducing me to this important initiative and drawing my attention to one of the least discussed dimensions of displacement in Ukraine.
When we think about displacement during war, our minds often turn to families fleeing bombardment, children crossing borders, or young people whose futures have been interrupted by conflict.
Far less often do we think about growing old in displacement.
Yet it was a conversation with Elena Rogers that caused me to pause and reconsider this overlooked reality. Like many people following events in Ukraine, I had become familiar with the scale of destruction, the millions displaced, and the enormous challenges facing reconstruction. However, Elena drew my attention to something I had not fully appreciated: the extraordinary number of elderly people caught within this crisis.
According to Elena, more than half of Ukraine's remaining population is elderly. Many have been unable to leave the country. Some have no relatives abroad. Others lack the financial means, physical mobility or social support necessary to relocate elsewhere. She estimates that around 1.5 million elderly Ukrainians are internally displaced.
It is a staggering figure.
And yet discussions about displacement rarely focus on older people.
Perhaps this is because older people are often less visible. They are less likely to appear in stories about rebuilding careers, raising young families or starting new lives abroad. Yet they face unique challenges that can make displacement particularly difficult.
Many live with chronic illnesses….. Many have mobility issues….. Many depend upon local support networks that have been disrupted by war…..Many have spent decades, sometimes entire lifetimes, building relationships with particular places.
For older people, displacement is not simply a change of address. It can mean the loss of an entire way of life.
International organisations have highlighted the severity of this challenge. Older Ukrainians account for a disproportionately high number of civilian casualties and injuries. Many struggle to access healthcare, affordable accommodation and essential services. Others remain isolated near frontline areas, reluctant to leave homes and communities that anchor their identity and sense of belonging.
As I listened to Elena describe these realities, I found myself reflecting on an experience from Iraq several years ago while working on Housing, Land and Property issues with displaced communities. In a safe house where I was staying, an elderly man living with dementia was confined to a small outbuilding nearby. During the night, he would call out repeatedly, pleading for help, disoriented and distressed. I still remember hearing his voice in the darkness. What has stayed with me is not simply the sadness of that memory, but what it revealed about vulnerability.
Conflict, displacement, illness and old age can intersect in ways that are rarely discussed. We often focus on the immediate dangers of war, yet for many older people, the deeper struggle lies in the loss of familiar routines, relationships and places that once gave structure and meaning to everyday life.
That experience helped me understand why projects such as Elena's matter. These realities make her initiative particularly compelling. Together with partners in Ukraine and the United Kingdom, she is helping to develop a pilot initiative focused specifically on housing and supporting elderly internally displaced people.
The proposal is ambitious but refreshingly practical.
A fifteen-hectare site near Makarivka, approximately forty kilometres from Kyiv, has been made available for the project. Plans include forty modular homes designed around the needs of elderly residents, alongside renewable energy systems incorporating solar, wind and battery storage technologies. A greenhouse will provide opportunities for gardening and social activity. A rehabilitation centre will offer support not only to residents but also to surrounding communities. Nearby medical and agricultural colleges may contribute through training and practical placements, creating opportunities for local employment and skills development.
What impressed me most was not simply the physical design, but the thinking behind it.
This is not a proposal for accommodation alone….. It is an attempt to create community.
Over the years I have worked with displaced populations in the Middle East and spent time more recently in Ukraine. One lesson emerges repeatedly across different contexts: people do not simply lose houses when they are displaced.
They lose familiarity.
They lose routines.
They lose neighbours.
They lose places associated with memory and identity.
For older people, these losses can be especially profound.
The philosopher Gaston Bachelard once described the home as one of humanity's greatest reservoirs of memory. We carry rooms, gardens, kitchens and landscapes within us long after we leave them. For elderly people who have spent decades inhabiting a particular place, displacement can feel like losing part of themselves.
This is why projects that focus on dignity and belonging matter.
Elena spoke passionately about Ukraine becoming a platform for innovation. The country has demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in fields ranging from defence technology to renewable energy and digital transformation. She sees an opportunity to apply that same spirit of innovation to one of the country's most pressing social challenges.
What if housing for displaced elderly people were not viewed simply as a welfare provision?
What if it became an opportunity to rethink community, sustainability and care?
What if recovery included those whose voices are often overlooked?
These questions feel increasingly important.
The future reconstruction of Ukraine will rightly focus on infrastructure, housing, economic recovery and investment. Yet successful recovery must also be measured by how well it supports the most vulnerable members of society.
The elderly are often among the last people to leave and the first people forgotten.
Yet I am conscious that discussions about ageing and displacement can unintentionally reinforce another stereotype, that older people are merely vulnerable, dependent or passive recipients of care. That was not my experience in Ukraine. During my visits, I was repeatedly struck by the contribution older people were making to their communities. Many were carrying significant responsibilities, supporting extended families, maintaining homes and gardens, caring for neighbours and helping communities function under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
I found them practical, resilient, inquisitive and generous with their time. They were often among the first people to offer advice, local knowledge and hospitality. As I navigated a country living through conflict, older Ukrainians were frequently a source of guidance, perspective and reassurance.
This matters because successful recovery depends not only upon supporting older people, but also recognising the immense social, cultural and practical contributions they continue to make.
They are not simply beneficiaries of recovery.
They are among its most important participants.
The proposed development near Makarivka recognises this.
It acknowledges that older people are not simply recipients of care.
They are active participants in community life.
They have knowledge to share.
They have relationships to build.
They have futures worth investing in.
Most importantly, they deserve dignity.
I am grateful to Elena Rogers for bringing this initiative to my attention and, in doing so, encouraging me to see Ukraine's displacement crisis from a different perspective.
Too often, we measure displacement through statistics. (Millions displaced. Thousands of homes destroyed. Billions required for reconstruction). These figures matter. But behind every number is a person attempting to preserve a sense of home. And for many elderly Ukrainians, that struggle continues every day.
If you would like to learn more about this initiative or explore opportunities to support the project, please feel free to contact Elena Rogers directly through her LinkedIn profile.
Projects such as this remind us that recovery is not only about rebuilding what has been lost.
It is also about ensuring that no one is left behind while doing so.
