A year of war in Ukraine | Montreal, forever?

The Ukrainian tragedy is made up of tragedies, but it also conceals surges of solidarity and examples of resilience that bring hope. Montreal has become the refuge of many families and perhaps the place where their new life will begin.

Suzanne Colpron

The Press

A bottle in the sea

Kateryna Kotliar launched, from Poland where she had taken refuge at the start of the war, the modern equivalent of a bottle in the sea, a message on Facebook.

“Is it possible to come to Canada without money with my two children and my mother? asked the 37-year-old Ukrainian.

“Can people help me to have a new life? »

His message was read on the other side of the Atlantic by Montrealer Kelly Conrick.

Kelly Conrick and her husband François Dinel, these “truly extraordinary people”, offered her an apartment where she could live for free with her children for a year, a few steps from the Jean-Talon metro station, in one of the buildings they own.

They also housed his mother, helped her find a job, obtain a social insurance number, find an organization that gives evening francization classes. “To do everything”, summarizes Kateryna, that The Press met at the Immigrant Community Support Center (CACI).

“They are the best people in the world! »

A nurse in her country, Kateryna arrived in Quebec on May 14 with her two children, Myroslav and Mila, and her mother, Olena Khiblina. She fled her city, Kyiv, on the first day of the Russian invasion, in February 2022.

Kateryna took refuge with her family in Poland, after spending a few days in a Ukrainian town, far from Kyiv, to escape the salvoes of Russian missiles.

Poland has hosted the largest number of Ukrainians fleeing the war: nearly 1.5 million people had registered there as refugees in November 2022.

“Stay Forever”

Kateryna could have stayed in Poland or gone to live in Spain, where one of her cousins ​​lives, but she preferred Canada. For what ? “I speak English and Canada has a program for Ukrainians,” she explains.

Quickly, she obtained, thanks to Kelly, a job in a pharmacy near her home. She places the medicines on the shelves and helps the pharmacist.

“I can’t work as a nurse here because I don’t speak French,” she explains. To be evaluated, to learn French, to take the exams, it takes around three to five years. So, it’s not tomorrow that I’m going to be able to be a nurse here. »

To achieve this, she takes French lessons three evenings a week. Her two children, Mila, 6, and Myroslav, 9, go to school, where they also learn French.

Does she want to stay?

“Yes,” Kateryna replies without hesitation. I want to stay here forever! I like it here. I made a lot of friends. I see a lot of possibilities for my children and for me. I just have to learn French. »

Pay it forward

Kelly Conrick and François Dinel have decided to help Kateryna Kotliar and her family to give back.

“It was stronger than me,” says Kelly.

“My grandmother was German and my grandfather was Romanian,” she says. At the beginning of the Second World War, they fled Germany and they had to stop in Austria because my grandmother was pregnant with my mother. »

Two years later, a Canadian family helped them settle when they decided to come and live in Canada.

Kelly figured it was her turn to reach out to a family when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Kateryna’s message touched her heart. She found out about it through an aid organization for Ukrainian refugees located in Montreal.

“I immediately wrote to him privately to offer him accommodation and help,” she explains.

“Katy, as she calls her, is an extraordinary woman. She’s so hardworking, it’s crazy. It clicked between us. I have two daughters-in-law. Katy, this is my third daughter! »

“It’s very far from Russia!” »

Very many Ukrainians have been welcomed here. More than 160,000 in Canada, about 10,000 in Quebec. Many of them will not return to their country of origin when peace returns.

“Why Canada? Because it is very far from Russia! »

This sentence, launched by Tetiana Honcharenko, sums up a widespread feeling among a large majority of women and men who have fled their country since the invasion of Russia, that The Press met in Montreal. This is not a scientific survey, but the responses of these refugees seem to indicate that their exile will not be temporary and that they are already ready to start a new life.

” It’s certain ”

“It’s calm here, that’s for sure,” rejoices Tetiana Honcharenko, 39.

For seven months, the Ukrainian has been living in Montreal with her two children, her husband, her mother, her sister and her family.

Her husband was allowed to leave Ukraine because he is caring for his sick parents, hospitalized in Budapest, Hungary.

The family could have stayed in Budapest, but they preferred Montreal.

“Budapest is also a beautiful city,” says Tetiana, who works as a bookkeeper in a Montreal hotel. “But it’s more difficult to communicate with people than here. »

What does she find difficult?

“I am afraid of not having my permanent residence in Canada. We have to start our life over. We work a lot. We have to do a lot of things. Can we stay here afterwards? »

“I’m starting from scratch”

Nataliia Yaroshchko, 38, was head of a human resources department in Ukraine.

In Montreal, she works in a jewelry warehouse.

“I’m starting from scratch, but it’s going well,” she says. I like this ! »

Since June, Nataliia has been living in Laval with her 12-year-old daughter. “She’s a good student,” she said. She made new friends. I too have new friends, Quebeckers, whom I met at work. »

What does she find difficult?

Learn French and navigate the healthcare system. “For me, it’s really difficult to get access to a doctor, it’s a big problem. In my country, I can get an appointment with a doctor very quickly. I call a clinic today and have an appointment tomorrow. Sometimes the same evening. We have a lot of clinics and they are open every day and on weekends, from 8 in the morning to 9 in the evening. »

“Without my father, it’s really difficult”

Polina Ignatova misses her friends and her city, but even more her father.

She has lived in Saint-Laurent since June with her mother and 15-year-old sister. “It’s hard for us to live without him,” she says, speaking of her father who is not allowed to leave Ukraine.

The family took refuge in Poland before coming to Quebec. Polina’s mother, who worked for an American technology company in Ukraine, got a transfer to Montreal. “That’s why we came,” says the young woman in English.

At 18, Polina is exploring her possibilities. She can take online courses at a Ukrainian university. But it’s not ideal. She would much rather go to a Montreal university, interact with her professors, hang out with students her own age. At Concordia, for example. But tuition fees are very high for foreign students.

What does she find difficult?

” All. I had lived in the same town since I was born, she says. Today, my family is separated. Without my father, it’s really difficult. I miss my friends, my house, the places I used to go…”

” I want to stay here ”

Iryna Abdelkafi, 43, works in a music accessories warehouse with her husband.

“My English is not very good and my French is really bad,” she says, laughing.

“Right now, that’s all I can do. It’s OK ! »

In Ukraine, Iryna was an assistant at a university and did quality control in a confectionery laboratory.

“We like it here,” she adds. Before, I lived in two countries, Ukraine and Tunisia, because my husband is Tunisian. But, honestly, I didn’t want to go and live in Tunisia. It’s too different a country for me. The people are good, the climate is beautiful, but it’s too different. I prefer Canada. »

Her husband, who has family here and who speaks French very well, dreamed of living in Quebec.

“I want to stay,” said Iryna. If I have the choice between Canada and Tunisia, I will choose Canada, for sure. »

What does she find difficult?

“Learning French and English. I don’t speak English very well and I’m trying to learn French, but I can’t practice speaking French at my job. »