Kamloops United Church hosts dinner for Ukrainians fleeing the war
Standing in line for dinner to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war in Ukraine at the Kamloops United Church, 19-year-old Anastasjia talks about how she became accustomed to the sounds of explosions from the Russian attack. Two months later, she joined her 20-year-old boyfriend Pascha in Poland and then came to Kamloops, Canada.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine leading to a war that would force millions to flee their country. A percentage of Ukrainians have come to Kamloops to start a new life. According to Paolo Bigit, the Ukrainian humanitarian effort coordinator and diversity outreach coordinator at Kamloops Immigrant Services, as of Nov. 18, 2022, there have been 142 Ukrainians who have arrived in Kamloops.
Every third Friday of each month at 6 p.m., the Kamloops United Church has organized “Ukrainian Welcome Dinners” in the church hall. They have partnered with Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops Immigrant Services, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and the Ukrainian Society to give new Ukrainian arrivals the chance to interact with Canadians and welcome them into the Kamloops community.
In face of the current events in Ukraine, Reverend Dr. Michael Caveney said this event started with a simple question: “What can we do for them?”
The latest welcome dinner was carried out on Nov. 18, 2022, the first dinner party for Pascha (20) and Anastasjia (19). The young couple had been staying in Kamloops for over a month, living with their host Pam.
As the dinner began, Anastasjia joined Reverend Dr. Michael Caveney on the stage, translating every sentence the Reverend said into Ukrainian. When they finished, cheers and applause flooded the hall, giving an official start to the evening.
While people were waiting for the food, Pascha began telling his story.
Two months before the war erupted in Ukraine, he had moved to Poland to pursue his studies. Anastasjia was supposed to go with him but she fell sick and decided to stay. Then, on February 24, the war started. Unable to go back home, Pascha helped as much as he could, receiving people from the border and translating for them into Polish. He also worked as a handyman during his time there.
His father wanted to stay in Ukraine to join the military. However, Pascha said he couldn’t join because of his age and lack of training. Still, his father wouldn’t leave his country.
Anastasjia was in Ukraine when the war started.
“During the first days, you don’t know what to expect,” she said. Anastasjia lived in Vinnytsia, a city located three hours from the capital Kyiv. In the beginning, she would hear a few explosions. The first few days there was no bread because only a limited amount of people were working. As time passed, she grew used to hearing the sound of blasts and thunder. Then, two months later, she joined Pascha in Poland, leaving her family behind in Ukraine.
Thanks to their Canadian visa, they were able to move to Canada.
“The people who are fleeing the war are not considered to be refugees,” Bigit said when explaining the difficulties of getting statistics about Ukrainian refugees across Canada. The creation of the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) visa program is a limited solution to the conflict in Ukraine. “All of our Ukrainian clients that are coming into the country have an expiry date.” They can stay in Canada for 3 years before having to return to their country.
According to Bigit, the help that the federal government of Canada is offering Ukrainians had to be planned without enough time. “This hasn’t happened since the end of the Second World War – that was the last time we had a mass exodus of citizens from a given country.”
When Ukrainians arrive in Canada through the CUAET visa program, they are eligible to receive a one-time-only payment of $3000 for people over 18-years-old and $1500 for children. They can work, but they have multiple restrictions as well.
“We are grateful. We are lucky because we are young and we can work. But imagine a single mother with children. $3000 is nothing,” said Pascha when asked about the federal government’s aid.
Case Manager Liza Ferris Ortiz from Kamloops Immigrant Services says that one of the biggest struggles Ukrainians are facing is the housing crisis. KIS is working with agencies like Ask Wellness to help with temporary rental supplements to aid families with a portion of their rent.
“We have to change our mentality,” Ferris says. “Instead of thinking what we are going to lose, we have to think what we are going to win with receiving refugees and immigrants.”