Escape from Ukraine: Alberta bound

A Southern Alberta family has volunteered to host this Ukrainian family when they arrive, and dozens of people have donated household items, food, and money to help them start a new life here in Alberta. A GoFundMe campaign has also been set up by their Canadian host, Sherry Silvaggio.

If you would like to help or host a refugee family, the Canadian government provides information on how to sponsor a refugee.

Provincially, the Alberta Government also has refugee support information available, including details about how to support privately-sponsored refugees.

Follow the entire Escape from Ukraine series on Lethbridge News Now:

Part 1: The War in Her Words, features a letter from one of the refugee children.

Part 2: Constant Fear: Surviving in a Warzone, describes one Ukrainian family’s experience when the war began, and explains what finally compelled them to make the decision to leave their home in Kyiv, Ukraine.

A transcript of the above video, Part 3, Escape from Ukraine: Alberta bound, is published below.

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Millions of Ukrainian families have been forced to flee their homes and become refugees as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The United Nations Refugee Agency says more than seven million Ukrainians have been displaced within the country, and more than 2.5 million people have fled to Poland since the war began on February 24, 2022.

This is one of those families.

“We were not aware that something could even happen like that.”

They made the difficult decision to leave their home in Kyiv, Ukraine after staying in basements, shelters, and corridors, and witnessing destruction all around them.

“It was very dangerous. We start to have a lot of soldiers, a lot of blocked roads, a lot of people who check and everything, with weapons, and it starts to be like that.”

So, they made the decision to leave. It was the first of many life-changing decisions that had to be made in an instant.

“You don’t know where or how, and just leave, just leave. We were thinking, just go to safe place.”

They found an opportunity. One of their co-workers was able to secure a spot on a bus, so they asked if the bus had room for their family as well. The co-worker checked and said yes, if they could be there within two hours, they could get a spot on the bus. So, that’s exactly what they did.

“We just pick up one luggage, suitcase, and dogs, and that’s all, for all of us. Our family, we just have that. And it was very quickly because we have opportunity to leave.”

With their entire lives packed into one single suitcase, they took the chance and left their home, facing many obstacles throughout the city on their way toward the bus.

“In this time, subway stopped, and they blocked bridges, and it was a miracle that we find bus and we go.”

Just like that, the life they had spent years building in Kyiv was over.

They made it to the bus in time, but quickly learned that it was just the beginning of a very long and difficult journey. Once they were on the bus, their level of fear, and their risk of danger both escalated, as they witnessed and experienced what was happening beyond their neighbourhood.

“It was another story. It was not even a story, it was very dangerous. We had a situation that we’re stuck in one place, we see that they start to move quickly because of guns, they see someone want to attack us. They say to go, this bus should turn around and go back, go back. Other people say to us go from there because they have attack there. They say to us to go down, lay down in bus, and it was awful situation, and I was just praying.”

This was one of many unpredictable struggles the family faced during their chaotic escape from Ukraine.

First, they travelled from Kyiv to Lviv, but Lviv was overrun with people just like them, who had escaped and were searching for somewhere to stay.

“A lot of people, decide to come to Lviv and they don’t have places. All houses, buildings, apartments, everything, they are not available for rent anymore. And we see people they just go to other countries, like Poland, like Slovakia, Germany, every country in Europe, and we decided, well, we’ll do the same, and we found a bus.”

The next bus they found was heading toward Poland, so with another quick, life-changing decision, that’s where they went. They travelled as far as the Polish border, but then their journey came to an abrupt stop.

“Seven hours we stay in customs, at customs in bus, and always it’s a lot of people. We were luckier than those people, because other people who were walking, they wait 20 hours, and it’s awful.”

“Yes, and it was cold, actually.”

“Yeah, it was very cold.”

They and many others eventually made it into Poland, and through the kindness of strangers, they were able to stay with a host family in Krakow.

“The family find us. They say we are ready to host someone, and then we came to this family. We don’t know them at all. They host us in their home. We are there from 3^rd of March, we are there. Still now, we are with them. They feed us, they make a shelter, they give us everything, and we are more than thankful for all of that, that they would, not just them, country, Europe, everyone would try to help us, and we appreciate that so much.”

They understand that their current arrangement isn’t a permanent living situation, and they have to figure out what to do next.

“The most question that I ask myself is ‘what is next?’ What, what? We don’t have place to live.”

They only know they can’t go back home.

“Our city bombed. We can’t come back for sure. Even [if] war will stop now, we have destruction, we have a lot of things and I don’t know when it will work, and we don’t have even a future for the kids, I don’t know where they will land now with their education, with school, I don’t know anything what to do. And we decide that we want to start new life.”

So, the family has decided to come to Canada, and they are awaiting their documentation to start their new life in a new land.

Follow the family’s escape from Ukraine at LethbridgeNewsNow.com.

Read the story of another Ukrainian refugee family searching for peace in Southern Alberta.

by LNN Staff

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Escape from Ukraine: Alberta bound

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