By Bianca Jashnani
More than 12 million people have fled their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022. More than half the people have been displaced inside the war-ravaged country itself, while the rest have fled to neighbouring countries.
Getting visas
The UK introduced the Family Scheme visa for Ukrainians to stay with their extended or immediate family in the UK.
The UK also launched Sponsorship Scheme, which allows people based in the UK to sponsor Ukrainians for at least six months.
However, many refugees and sponsors are still unhappy with the process, as it is slow, complex, and vague. Other problems, such as living in small towns with few transport links and job opportunities, and troubles communicating with hosts, have made things even more difficult.
Ivan Arfush, 23, medical student, said, “I am currently in Poland and am talking to sponsors in the UK while waiting for my visa. I applied online for my visa and received a confirmation in about seven days, which I feel is a little slow given the situation I left my country in.
“The email from the UK government said that they tried calling me but couldn’t get through. I have emailed them back, tried calling them, and have had no response.”
He added: “I don’t know what to do anymore. I just want to get my visa and start new as soon as possible and put everything in the past.”
Travelling to other countries to get to the UK
The UK has been criticised over the requirement for Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion to have valid visas and get biometric tests before being allowed in. In comparison, European countries took in the refugees without any demands.
As a result, Priti Patel, Home Secretary, announced on 10th March, “In short, Ukrainians with passports will be able to get permission to come here fully online from wherever they are and will be able to get a biometrics once in Britain.“
Darya Chevychalova, 19, international business student, had to leave her home city of Mariupol due to the bitter war and continuous Russian shelling that destroyed the city and killed thousands.
“We were not allowed to leave Mariupol through Ukraine to travel to Europe; I cried every day and asked why this was happening to me,” said Chevychalova.
“The only solution to leave was to go through Russia. It was necessary to go through filtration to get a piece of paper to leave. We stood waiting for this piece of paper for three days in a field and slept on the street.”
Chevychalova and her family had to go to the disputed city of Donetsk by car, then to Rostov in southern Russia and on to Kursk in western Russia to visit relatives and take money for their journey. They further travelled to Russia’s capital, Moscow, to go to the Latvian capital Riga by bus and finally to Poland’s capital Warsaw.
“It was a very difficult, terrifying and long process,” she added.
Chevychalova said that during the four days she travelled in Russia that she had an “unusual feeling inside”, which she doesn’t know “how to explain”. She was “scared”, but it was more than that.
“I thought that Russia was our friend, but I was wrong. I did not even understand my relatives; I felt that the people there didn’t understand us. We didn’t have any food there, water and gas, but people were thinking only about politics and not about the situation we were in.
“I wanted to get away from that place. I wanted to see the other side of this situation, where Ukrainians are cared for, such as in Europe. Now, I can finally wash up, eat, cook food, correspond online and do my studies here in Poland. I’m a little happier.”
Chevychalova is currently waiting for her family’s visa to go to the UK as she is hesitant to travel alone.
Difficulties faced by hosts and refugees
Many hosts face a communication barrier with their guests, which can cause them to provide less support to the refugees and can lead to misunderstandings.
“I feel we are particularly lucky as we and our guests get on very well. But there are challenging moments where I feel the language is a barrier to me offering more support. Sometimes I feel frustrated not to be able to do more,” said Amity Clemence, 39, who is presently hosting seven people as she has space in her house. She does not want to reveal the city she lives in to protect her guests’ anonymity.
Clemence feels that the language barrier is the hardest in an emotional situation. One of her guests has left behind their 18-year-old son with her, and she feels it is not easy to know what to say when the same language is not spoken. She supports her guests by sitting with them, holding their hands and hugging them.
As small towns offer fewer job opportunities, some refugees face difficulty finding a host in the city of their preference to live and work in the UK. This is causing them to have to wait longer or shift to a town closer to the city they prefer.
Image: Eva Matling
“Due to the fact that I am looking for a home in London, it is more difficult for me to find hosts. I have got plenty of other offers, but they are outside London, which does not work for me,” said digital specialist Eva Matling, 21.
“I have my closest friends in London who can help me integrate into the society and make me feel more at home.
“I am even looking for a job in London as I feel I will get an amazing exposure in the area I work in and am looking for something long term because I might never return home.”
Recently, refugees have been left homeless due to problems with their hosts, and many have also been removed from houses as they were living in due to unsuitable conditions.
Yuliia Plakhotnichenko, 38, a pork factory worker, had a falling out with her host.
“My sponsor was a 52-year-old Turkish man in Ipswich. He always smoked on the balcony, but once, he was smoking inside, and I asked him to close the room door because I cannot take the smoke from cigarettes, which we spoke about during the paperwork.
“This made him angry, and he messaged me saying that I could not tell him what he could do in his apartment. He then told me that his girlfriend from Ukraine was coming to stay with him and that I cannot stay with him anymore.
Plakhotnichenko, 38, found it “bizarre” because, in the beginning, her host wanted some kind of relationship with her, but she “refused immediately”.
“I told him I could look for another sponsor, but he told me that he also did not want any relationship and that I could safely come and live with him. Maybe he actually found someone who wanted to be in a relationship and that is why he told me to leave,” she added.
Scammers creating more problems for refugees
Some people have been accused of taking advantage of the Ukrainian crisis. Many people on Facebook groups helping with accommodation for Ukrainians in the UK have exposed people posing as refugees and asking for money from people.
“This ‘lady’ asks for money in private message. Several complaints were received from different groups and different people. Once again, I draw your attention, dear British!!! Be very careful!!!” read a recent post on social media written by a Ukrainian refugee.
Clemence, 39, now a host, said, “I have seen it. I have experienced it. It is terribly disappointing to see people take advantage of such a genuinely horrific situation.”
Clemence has been contacted on Facebook and through email. She checks out if the person is legit by seeing their profile on Facebook and interacts accordingly.
“One instance, the profile picture didn’t add up with the previous ones; it went from being visibly an African man to an eastern European woman.”
As for emails, Clemence has been asked by people to help them get out of Ukraine. But since she has no experience in that situation, she directs them towards Facebook groups which can help them. However, she has been told that “no one has been able to help them”, which she finds “strange”, and then stops replying.
“I got an email where the woman told me that her husband and sons have died, and she is left with her daughter, and a few emails later, she said all her children have disappeared. Little things like that just do not add up, and you can sense that something is not quite right. I stopped engaging at that point.”
Nastya Zapaskina, 23, law student, said, “I have lost faith in humanity; it is awful to see something like this. We are facing something so sad, so intense. We know the government will help us with the money once we are there, so why would we ask for it?
“I, myself, want to go to the UK, and I am ashamed of such people as it shakes the trust of people who are genuinely trying to help us.”
Looking for the right host or refugees
More needs to be done for Ukrainians than have Facebook groups to find hosts. To be hosts and enter the group, people need to answer why they want to join the group and agree to rules that include no hate speech and bullying. More government help will perhaps avoid scammers and help people find suitable hosts or refugees.
Jagoda Prokop, 38, teaching assistant, said, “I’ve been looking to host a mum with a young son in Lincoln for about two weeks. We have a young son ourselves and think it would be good for the boys to get to know each other and play together.
“Lots of people have been looking for accommodation via Facebook groups, but in my opinion, the government should be more involved in contacting hosts and refugees.”
Prokop feels that the government should make a database with refugees’ detaila, such as sex, age, children, pets, etc., before they get their visas. The government should also enter the hosts’ details and requirements after checking their background and running DBS checks, as “it would be so much easier to find” refugees or hosts who are best suited for them.
Olga Kadar, 27, a refugee from Kyiv who is currently looking for a host, said, “I have heard of so many men trying to pull in vulnerable women, only to insult them or ask them to marry them for space. As a woman, I do not think this is okay, and I do not feel safe; this is the last thing I want to experience after everything.
“A database will definitely help us find the right host. We will know that we are talking to people who won’t take advantage of us and are safe through a database. We can have video chats and see where we will be living. Everything will be better for both of us.
“I feel someone opening up their homes to strangers is a big step, and it is important to understand what they want, and if it is all right with them with what we want.”
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