Searching for peace in Southern Alberta

“My family is coping with this very hard,” says Marta. “My children ask every day when a Russian missile [will] destroy our house. Every night they pack their toys and things in balls to take with them if they have to run away.”

Marta and her young children must rush to the bomb shelter every time there is an air raid warning.

“We hear air alarms, it can be 6-9 times a day,” says Marta. “Close to [me] there were already 5 places where missiles hit. We hide in underground shelters.”

Air raid warning that Marta receives regularly via text, April 2022 (Photo provided by Marta)

Text from Marta, April 2022.

Now, the attacks in their region are increasing.

“Recently, more and more rockets are flying at us. The girls are scared,” says Marta.

Aftermath of bombing in Ukraine, April 2022. (Video provided by Marta)

Marta’s situation is unimaginable to many people, but it is a reality that millions of Ukrainians have been experiencing ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Text from Marta, April 2022

“In fact, many tragic incidents and consequences people do not know and cannot feel,” says Marta. “Only we in Ukraine live by this genocide, pain, hunger, suffering, and fear. Many facts about the destruction of people are hidden so that there is no panic in Ukraine, but we feel it, we see the deaths of our friends, relatives.”

Bombing at a gas station in Ukraine, April 2022. (Photo provided by Marta)

Marta recently heard and felt five explosions near her home that caused everything to shake, and the power was knocked out because three substations were on fire.

Fire after bombing in Ukraine. (Photo provided by Marta)

Emergency workers at fire after bombing in Ukraine. (Photo provided by Marta)

Marta and her family have witnessed the aftermath of bombings and live in fear every day that they remain in Lviv.

That’s why Marta has decided to leave Ukraine and come to Canada. Her decision to leave is a heart-wrenching choice for their family, as her husband and son must stay behind in the military, while Marta and her daughters flee the war-torn country.

“In order to keep my children from suffering, I decided to move to another country,” says Marta. “I chose Canada because it is very far away, because it is a country with beautiful nature, with good people. I know little about Canada, but I feel in my heart that I need to go to Canada. I can’t [say] why, I just feel that way.”

Getting to Canada, however, is not an easy process.

Even though the federal government is working to improve settlement services for Ukrainian refugees, it can still take several weeks or months to process all of the necessary paperwork and complete biometric identification processes, such as fingerprints and eye scans.

“It is very difficult to go to Canada. You need a lot of money for paperwork, visa, and biometrics. And time in our case is our security,” says Marta. “Canada can help Ukrainians by speeding up the process of obtaining visa documents, because waiting 2-3 months is very dangerous during the martial law in Ukraine.”

Marta has experienced first-hand how dangerous it can be to accomplish all of the Canadian requirements while living in a war zone.

In order to meet the biometrics requirements for Canada, Marta had to leave her young daughters with her son, who had to coordinate a day off from his military duty.

Then Marta had to take a 10-hour bus trip from Lviv, Ukraine to Warsaw, Poland through multiple military check points along the way.

Military checkpoint in Ukraine, April 2022. (Photo provided by Marta)

Marta says when she arrived at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw at the exact time and date of the appointment listed on her letter from the government, the embassy was closed.

As a result, Marta was forced to be away from her children for an additional 12 hours. It was an agonizing experience for Marta, because her children were still in war-torn Ukraine, and her youngest daughter was sick after spending so much time in the shelter.

Text from Marta, April 2022

Marta was eventually able to complete her biometrics requirements in Warsaw and make the 10-hour trip back to Lviv, Ukraine. She is now with her children again, still waiting for her Canadian documents to arrive, and wishing for an end to the war in her homeland.

“I wish Ukraine a quick victory,” Marta says. “To stop people from dying of hunger, injuries. That no one was tortured, raped and abused Ukrainian children, women and men. That politicians reasonably and sincerely ensure peace in Ukraine.”

Despite her constant fear for her family’s safety, Marta is optimistic that Canada will provide a promising future for her family.

“I hope when I come to Canada to build a new life, I want to feel like a free person. I don’t want to be afraid,” says Marta. “I want my husband and son to move to Canada. It is a very difficult step for us to change our lives, but everything is done for the sake of our three children. My husband and I want our children to have a secure future, not to know what pain and suffering are.”

The family hopes to find peace in Canada.

A family from Southern Alberta plans to host Marta and her daughters when they arrive in Canada.

Brenda and Rod Moor decided to host a Ukrainian refugee family in their home, and Brenda says she felt compelled to help when she connected with Marta on Facebook and heard her story.

“Everybody needs help, but it was Marta’s story that really inspired me to go ahead with this, actually,” says Brenda. “We’ve already got this bond going back and forth, and it just feels really good.”

Brenda has been in constant communication with Marta for several weeks now, and she has been helping her with the paperwork necessary to relocate to Canada.

Brenda says she wants to provide a stable environment for Marta and her daughters because they need to heal after dealing with so much instability since the war began.

Marta recently remarked, “Yesterday it was raining and thunder was thundering, we were so scared! Thought it was a bomb. We have a disturbed psyche, it often seems to me that I hear sirens of an air alarm.”

“I worry about her,” says Brenda. “We’re taking this on with the feeling that Marta will become part of our family. Just to provide a stable home for them basically, food, housing, clothing, you know, just a normal home life. I just want them to be happy here.”

Brenda says Marta has shared how painful it is that she and her husband have worked for so many years to provide a nice safe home for their children, only to have it all suddenly taken away, leaving them with nothing. Brenda feels compelled to help them re-establish themselves here in Canada.

“We want to provide a place for Marta to begin establishing a home while she awaits the arrival of her son and husband,” Brenda adds, “How can we expect people to show compassion and do something to help if we just sit around and do nothing?”

Marta says when she leaves to come to Canada, all she will be able to bring is what can fit into one suitcase. Everything else will be left behind. “Children’s beloved toys, clothes, things that represent your life are abandoned at your most vulnerable time.”

Brenda and Marta both know they can’t replace everything that has been lost in the war, but Brenda says the generosity that Marta’s family will experience at the other end of their journey is already overwhelming. Brenda says she is amazed by the generosity of Southern Albertans who have already donated bicycles, toys, Ukrainian dance lessons, and money toward a GoFundMe page for airfares and travel expenses.

Marta understands that life will never be the same as it was before the war started, but she hopes to find peace again for her family.

Marta and her daughters in happier times. (Photo provided by Marta)

Once all of the Canadian documentation comes through, Marta and her daughters are expected to arrive in Alberta in May 2022.

by LNN Staff

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Searching for peace in Southern Alberta

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