Greensboro Reporter

A person can leave their homeland, but their love for it never dies, nor does the closeness one feels with others in similar positions.

Greensboro’s Mark Bochkis was born in Moldova and is planning to return to help Ukrainian refugees as Russia’s military continues to pound the country.

“My initial reaction was just heartbreak and really a large feeling of helplessness and anger and frustration,” Bochkis said in a WGHP report. 

Russia’s incursion into Ukraine brought back a slew of memories for him.

“(At) 10 years old, you remember a decent bit,” he said, reminiscing. “I finished four grades of Soviet schooling. I was a Pioneer, which is official participation in the Communist Party.”

He also flashed back to the country he called home.

“I remember the neighborhood I grew up in,” he said. “I remember the school I walked to; the grocery store we’d shop at. I’m recognizing the fact that this is my last chance maybe to go see the place where I grew up.”

Now, he’s heading to Moldova to help, donating his time to Moldova World Children’s Fund, a non-profit run by Ray West.

“Ray has a warehouse and a kind of supply chain. He’s bringing in humanitarian aid from North America and Europe,” Bochkis said. “I know he’s short on help, so I’m going to be helping him with anything from physical labor to delivering some of those supplies to the places those need to go.”

As for the motive behind his decision: he see today’s Ukrainians as being in a similar position to what he was in. The Greensboro Jewish Federation helped his family resettle.

“You see all the people and all the tragedy and all the suffering, but…they don’t just look like us,” he said. “They look like my family. They look like my grandparents. They look like my mom and my dad. And that’s a measure of like closeness that I feel."