In late September and early October, approximately 200,000 Russian citizens crossed the border into Kazakhstan following the announcement of partial mobilization in Russia. More than 20,000 people entered the country every day during this period. Many of these individuals viewed Kazakhstan as a transit country, as official data from the country indicates that 1.66 million Russians entered Kazakhstan in the past year, while 1.64 million left.

My boyfriend and I purchased tickets to Kazakhstan on the first day of the mobilization. We had been consumed by fear and panic about our future ever since the war in Ukraine began, but financial instability and other circumstances prevented us from leaving our country. We also feared rejection and losing our home. When events in September became critical, we finally decided to leave.

Arriving in a different culture thousands of kilometers away from home, with no friends or acquaintances in a different time zone, we felt completely isolated, which only intensified our feelings of uncertainty and fear. To find peace and grounding, we took walks in the deserted areas of the city, which felt as remote as we did during our two months in Kazakhstan.

I observed that the city's pigeons, typically seen as domesticated birds, were wild and afraid of people in Kazakhstan. They gathered in large flocks on the outskirts of the city, and if people appeared, they would panic and fly away. I saw in these birds and their movements a symbol of our generation, which was forced to leave their homes and mourn the ongoing war.

In the present-day context, the pigeon, or dove, is a symbol of pacifism, the end of war, and peaceful conflict resolution. Doves are symbols of peace, tranquility, harmony, unity, and non-violence.