In photos: Helena Christensen meets internally displaced older people in Ukraine

UNHCR High Profile Supporter Helena Christensen travelled with UNHCR to Ukraine in March 2017 to meet elderly persons displaced by the recent conflict in the east of the country. 

In times of conflict, older people are at heightened risk of being forgotten, abandoned and neglected. When fighting led to civilian deaths and destroyed large swathes of buildings, including hospitals, and houses in Donetsk region, east of Ukraine in 2014, most of the young families fled. Less able to make this journey were the region’s older and vulnerable residents who stayed in their damaged homes or moved into collective shelters, convinced that they would soon return home. At the time of Helena’s visit, of the estimated 1.6 million people internally displaced by the conflict 900,000 were over 60 years old.

The gallery below includes some of Helena’s portraits of the individuals she met during her visit.