Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in their home country are making their way to Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday. (Andrew Fury / Twitter)
Less than a month has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine when Kelly Power received a message from an old friend asking if he would accept his 16-year-old brother – if he could get to Newfoundland.
The boy was in Ukraine and his sister was trying to get him out. She lived in Newfoundland and worked with Power at a pharmacy four years ago. The two understood each other and remained friends, even after the sister left.
Power, 52, said she did not think twice about agreeing to see the boy.
“If I said no, he had nowhere to go,” she told Canadian Press in a recent interview. “I was his way out.”
The teenager is now due to arrive in St. John’s on Monday on a plane from Poland, chartered by the provincial government and carrying up to 175 Ukrainian refugees.
The flight is part of a huge effort led by the provincial government and supported by a network of unattached volunteers – and people like Power – who are working to bring Ukrainians to Canada’s easternmost province and ensure their safety, accommodation and cared for.
Newfoundland and Labrador opened a satellite office in Warsaw, Poland in March to help Ukrainians fleeing Russian attacks settle in the province, nearly two months ahead of Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday that the federal government would open an office in Warsaw to help Ukrainians arrive in Canada, and paid a surprise visit to the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday to officially open the Canadian embassy.
Newfoundland and Labrador Immigration Minister Gary Byrne insists the plane, which arrives Monday, is the government’s first chartered flight to bring Ukrainian refugees to Canada. His department has not confirmed how many will be on board by Sunday night, but a spokesman said Friday 175 was the “work number”.
Preparing to arrive and send help
Power becomes emotional when she talks about the teenager arriving on Monday – whose name The Canadian Press has agreed not to publish – and all the things she will need: clothes, bedding, help with his English and friends.
She said his sister worked hard with the team at the Newfoundland and Labrador office in Warsaw to secure a visa, passport and exit from Ukraine to Poland to fly.
The journey to St. John will be difficult, Power said: he abandons his parents as well as his dog. He has never been on a plane and is just 16 years old.
Adilia Dragan was preparing a box of clothes and supplies for the teenager on Friday afternoon.
The 32-year-old woman from Russia lives right next to St. John’s and is moderating a Facebook group dedicated to sending drugs and supplies from Newfoundland to Ukraine.
The first government-led flight with Ukrainians fleeing the war is scheduled to arrive on Monday night in St. John’s. (CBC)
The group is now also dedicated to helping refugees who will arrive by flight on Monday.
Dragan said he receives dozens of Facebook messages every hour from Ukrainians and those who want to help them. She created a spreadsheet tracking Ukrainians who contacted her to say they were on a flight on Monday, and compared them to volunteers offering furniture, clothing or a place to live. Several rooms in her home are full of donated supplies, and she has arranged public places to go downstairs, where more is waiting.
Dragan and her team of volunteers collect boxes of clothes, shoes, food, toiletries, dishes and soap and will be at the airport on Monday with a personalized package for everyone on her list and other items for everyone else on the plane.
“We will have billboards and brochures,” she said. “And after the people come out, we will greet them in Ukrainian and give them information so they can contact us and tell us what they need.”
Dragan said she was overwhelmed by people in St. John offering help, although more volunteers, supplies and donations were always needed.
“People are great here,” she said. “I love the Newfoundlanders; they are the greatest people. You can’t find these people anywhere else in the world.”
The mother of three has her own full-time job, and she said all the work of sending aid to Ukraine and preparing for the arrival of refugees has become a second full-time job.
“My husband, he has a family in Ukraine, and my best friend is Ukrainian,” Dragan explained. “I just want to help.”
Sharing tips
Meanwhile, a woman from Irpin, a suburb right next to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, has some tips for those who land in St. John’s on Monday.
Galina Velichko knows first hand what it was like to uproot your life and escape to safety after spending the first days of the Russian invasion discussing whether to leave or not.
She told CBC News that as Russian tanks began descending to neighboring Bucha, about 30km west of Kyiv, she had broken through the Polish border.
“It was a really difficult decision and she is still experiencing post-traumatic stress. She cries every day. She sees her house in her dreams,” said her daughter Nadia But-Velichko, who acted as a translator during the interview.
“It’s awful. It’s really hard. But she hopes for the best. She made this decision to come here for herself, for her mental health, just to try to recover and try to get as much stress-free life as possible. “
Galina Velichko, left, has lived in Harbor Grace for about a month after fleeing her home in Irpin, a suburb near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. She is depicted here with her daughter Nadia But-Velichko. (Ryan Cook / CBC)
Since then, Galina Velichko has been living in Harbor Grace for about a month, a place her daughter has called home for years.
She said the correction was not easy and was devastated to learn that her community, home and workplace had been destroyed.
After landing in Newfoundland, Galina Velichko began meeting people at Harbor Grace, began studying English and even found work at a local grocery store.
Her daughter said she was active during her first week at Harbor Grace, which allowed her mother to continue living instead of thinking about home.
Galina Velichko offers advice for other Ukrainian newcomers arriving later on Monday: Don’t be discouraged.
“It will be difficult at first, but just think about Ukraine and think about the people who are fighting there and the people who are staying there. It is much more difficult for them. In the end, it will be better.
Part of the community
The flight, carrying about 175 Ukrainians seeking safety and shelter in Newfoundland and Labrador, is expected to land on Monday night in St. John’s.
This is the first government-led arrival since the province set up an office in Poland in mid-March to attract those fleeing the conflict.
Byrne said the flight was a “cross section” of Ukraine, with single mothers, grandparents and others making their way to Newfoundland. Some of the flights will start operating and will return to their new jobs as early as Tuesday morning, Byrne said.
“We really worked to develop positive, confident and trusting relationships with those who come. “It was never just a matter of filling out a form and we’ll take you on a flight,” he said.
“We want them to be successful when they arrive. We want them to feel at home and we want them to become part of our community and our neighborhoods immediately. ”
There is short-term accommodation, Byrne said, but he is asking residents to give the newcomers time and a “reasonable amount of space” after they have just fled their war-torn homes.
“Give them that respect,” he said.
Byrne said the passengers would be greeted by Canadian border guards, public health officials, the provincial immigration service and the New Canadian Association, and its team of volunteers on arrival.
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