Student Viktoriia Bavykina, who fled Ukraine to seek refuge in Sherbrooke, has been flooded with messages of support since arriving in Canada two weeks ago. On Friday, the Rock Guertin Foundation offered him a complete basic grocery store to enable him to live in his new apartment.
It’s so good, it feels good not to have to worry about food in the first week, it’s very important to me*Viktoriia Bavykina was delighted.
Rock Guertin Foundation director Denis Fortier indicated that his team was deeply moved by the story of the young woman, who fled her country with a suitcase.
The Foundation is not alone: ​​Viktoriia Bavykina’s story has motivated many Estriens and people from all over the country to mobilize.
It’s a tsunami! We had a lot of messages from people from Sherbrooke, but also from people from Ottawa. I have messages from all walks of life. We had people who offered to give French lessons to Viktoriia, she accepted, says Sherbrooke University professor Benoît Laurent. The latter runs the laboratory where Viktoriia completed an internship in the fall of 2021. She then helped it return to Canada and hosted her while waiting for her apartment in Sherbrooke to be ready.
” Too much, we don’t expect to receive all this help. I appreciate all the small and big attention.* “
He said he misses his home, his mother and his sister. The latter is still in Mykolaiv, his hometown, even though the area was recently bombed by the Russians. I never wanted to leave like that, running, without a real goodbye, without knowing what was going to happen [de ma famille] […] I am the one who worries about them now. They prefer to stay home because they don’t want to run away. I respect their choice*he pointed out.
However, the reception of the Sherbrooke residents is heart-warming. It’s still nice to pack up and start anew, but with all the support I have, it’s a lot easier.*
Steps full of traps
Beyond this movement of solidarity, the reception of Ukrainians in the region remains a challenge.
According to Benoît Laurent, the requirements of the Canadian government are too complex.
You will need to provide administrative proof, such as the father’s letter that does not include it, but these people are already in refugee camps in Poland or Romania. To have documents, you must also have documents certified and officially translated. The arrival of these people is really complicatedhe explains.
Stéphanie Blanchard, from the Rock Guertin Foundation, decided to welcome a mother and her daughter into her home. He took all the steps on his own, but also resisted bureaucratic hurdles.
They are mothers with children, sometimes very young. They leave with nothing, they get cold, get sickhe moaned.
Everyone’s dream is that they can just get on the plane, get to Montreal, I welcome them, we will do the paperwork afterwards when they are warm and safe.dispute by Ms. Blanchard.
According to figures obtained earlier this week, approximately 60,000 applications for Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorizations (CUAUAs) have been completed by Ukrainian nationals.
*Translated from the English by Radio-Canada
There is information from Marion Bérubé
Source: Radio-Canada
