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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago, forcing millions of people into exile. This is the case of Natalia, a refugee in Saint-Raphaël (Var), who found an apartment and a job in France, but left her son and her husband in Ukraine.
On the road between her small apartment in Saint-Raphaël (Var) and her work, Natalia regularly meets Silke, the owner. “She told me she wanted to work, so finally for a whole morning, I went door to door in restaurants, because she already had very specific ideas of what she could do without speaking French”, says Dr. Silke Schmidt, pediatrician. An approach that paid off, because Natalia found a job in a seaside pizzeria in Fréjus (Var).
Her son and husband still in Ukraine
“She’s been there since August, it’s kind of become our family, our protection, since it’s not easy to live far from her husband, her son”, confides very moved Lauriane Siino, room manager. In Ukraine, Natalia had a small furniture business, but left everything to become a waitress in Fréjus. Her 24-year-old son and her husband stayed behind, so she tracks bomb threats on her phone in real time. “I am still very worried”, she admits. Despite this background, Natalia won the admiration of the entire restaurant.
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