More than 5 million refugees left Ukraine out of concern for the safety of their remaining family members.
When Kateryna Halenda started asking if her children were going to die crying every night, she knew it was time to flee Ukraine. Leaving the country devastated by the Russian occupation was not an easy decision.
But her husband, Oleh, managed to persuade Kateryna to go with her two young children, as the wife did not want to leave her husband behind – the Ukrainian government forbade adult males to leave because of the war.
Kateryna, a 32-year-old teacher, now knows that she and her nine- and four-year-olds are safe.
However, Kateryna still receives a bomb threat on her mobile phone in the city where she lives in Ukraine. And so, now the concerns focus on whether the husband is okay.
He and his children are part of more than 5 million refugees who left Ukraine out of concern for their family members left behind. The total population of Ukraine before the war was 44 million.
A center that works ‘like family’
More than 60,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Kateryna and her children are not among the refugees resettled in British families.
They now live with 60 Ukrainian families thousands of kilometers from their homeland in a Welsh shelter in a specialist center that offers accommodation, food, education and psychological support.
Image: BBC
“It’s like one big family here. We all look at each other,” Kateryna said. “We were surprised when we arrived. They are very young but now they are completely happy, they play with other children every day and go to school every day. They feel safe here. That’s important.”
A Welsh youth organization called Urdd Gobaith Cymru is now responsible for running the center with 222 Ukrainian refugees, including more than 100 displaced children who can play and learn safely.
Many people living there find it difficult to enjoy this sanctuary because they can’t help but think of their home and family. This is one of the reasons why many do not flee before Ukraine.
“We waited 100 days because we didn’t want to leave but my husband left us,” Kateryna said. “It wasn’t safe. We used to stay in our basement very often because of the air raid sirens all the time, including at night when I had to wake my kids. But we decided to leave to find a safe place for my kids.”
Kateryna did not know Olena Andrshchuk before she arrived at the center in Wales two weeks ago. But now they became friends and supported each other while their husbands were still in Ukraine.
Olena’s husband Pavlo also fled their home in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, for the safety of his wife, himself and their two children.
“It’s still not safe,” said Olena, the 36-year-old online content producer. “That same day, very close to where we live, I woke up in the middle of the night from a massive bombing. Still, leaving was not an easy decision because I still had to leave my hometown, my city. my husband, everything I have. But I left for my children. “
Olena says she “loves” Wales and likens the center to a “holiday destination” with lots of new friends with shared experiences.
But many Ukrainian refugees there say they still often grapple with memories of the dire situation in Ukraine.
“I have an app on my phone and I’m still getting alerts for sirens in Ukraine. These are pretty frequent,” Kateryna said. “Thanks to the alerts, I know when to call my husband and ask how he’s doing,” said her husband, a volunteer fighter in his hometown of Ternopil, in western Ukraine.
back to school
The headquarters of the Urdd organization normally recruits students from Welsh schools, but for the past two months there have been Ukrainian children living, learning and laughing in this little corner of Wales.
Image: BBC
“My kids didn’t go to school for up to three months because it wasn’t safe,” Kateryna said. “But now they are happy because they go to school every day and they feel safe.”
Olena said her four-year-old son Leonard struggles socially with children her age, as many stay indoors because they are “too afraid” to let children play outside in Ukraine. At that time there were also many sirens that always warned of the coming of an air raid from Russia.
“Now that we are here, children can socialize, communicate with each other and are open to all kinds of activities. They missed it so much and now they can be happy. Children of course miss their parents, grandparents, but this is a better reality than we have in Ukraine,” he said. olena.
what’s next
While children enjoy daily English and Welsh lessons and a world of activities, their parents can focus on finding a job, accessing benefits and figuring out where to go next.
All this expert assistance for refugee families is provided onsite in a one-stop shop that also offers health checks for everyone who comes – Grandma Marta Burak is very pleased.
“I am very happy that my grandson was tested here for a disease that we cannot do at home,” said the 64-year-old retired teacher.
“He’s on medication now. That was really important to me.”
Marta, who is in her fifth week at the centre, is receiving help and advice from local authorities to stay in England, while her daughter Khrystyna takes intensive English lessons by the local college.
“We would love to stay here forever while we do the great things needed to stay in England,” he said. “But one day, we’re going to have to move on.”
However, Marta says, “Half her heart is in Wales and the other half is in Ukraine.”
“My son, daughter-in-law and son-in-law stay in Ukraine, and my grandchildren miss their father every day.”
Image: BBC
“They can’t really talk to him because they start crying but we’re safe here, that’s the most important thing.”
“Yesterday I got very sad news because my friend’s only family son was killed and he was only 30 years old.”
“He was such a handsome young man. It’s a pity that young people still die in this war. This has to end.”
Image: BBC
Ukrainian refugees in Wales have received support from organizations, authorities and residents in the region.
The Welsh people have raised millions of pounds for Ukraine’s humanitarian fund. In addition, Wales hosted more than 2,500 refugees.
Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford wants the country to become a “holy nation” and help Ukrainian refugees “rebuild their lives”.
Drakeford acknowledges that “the challenge for the next few weeks” is to help more people live in more permanent places than the temporary center. Thus, more refugees can be accommodated and assisted in the centre.
“Our focus was on the arrival of people from Ukraine. There are currently 4,000 people who want to come to Wales and we were expecting 1,000 at the beginning,” the Prime Minister said during his visit to the centre. said. “We need to focus on the people who have moved from our centers so that there are long-term prospects for all these people.”
source: Noticias
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