Since having to flee Ukraine with her 6-year-old son, Iryna Mishyna has consoled herself by helping families in similar situations to regain some stability.
But she herself lives in a precarious situation.
The 35-year-old woman has obtained a temporary visa to work in Canada where she intends to take refuge. However, his son Nikita is one of some 279,000 Ukrainians still awaiting a response from the authorities.
“I want a visa [canadien] for my son because it’s a very good opportunity for him,” says Ms. Mishyna, who is waiting in Warsaw, Poland, where she has settled after leaving Ukraine.
She submitted her claims in July. Canadian authorities issued her a visa in September, but have not yet given her any response for her son.
“I asked, but they told me to wait. »
In the meantime, she coordinates the work of several volunteers every day in an airy room on the second floor of the Warsaw station. Small wooden benches, small foam rugs, star-shaped blankets and pillows are scattered there to accommodate Ukrainian children fleeing their country.
According to Ms. Mishyna, 20 to 60 people live in this small shelter every night.
The place hosts Ukrainian families who are looking for a place to rest while they wait to figure out what they will do next. Like Mrs. Mishyna.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admits.
The Ukrainian is not the only mother to experience this situation, says Randall Baran-Chong, the founder of Pathfinders for Ukraine, a Canadian organization that has been helping would-be immigrants since the start of the war. Some people have been waiting for a response from the Immigration Department since March or April, he said.
A special program that is experiencing difficulties
When Russia attacked Ukraine nearly a year ago, several million Ukrainians fled to Poland, triggering a serious refugee crisis in Europe. Neighboring countries did not have the infrastructure to receive so many women and children.
Canada launched a first program specifically designed to quickly issue a temporary work or study visa as quickly as possible while waiting for the end of the war.
Since the program was introduced in March, the government has received 839,567 applications. It has accepted about 64% as of February 7.
Ms. Mishyna points out that it is not an easy task to apply for a visa. She had to leave her son in Poland to return to Ukraine to update his passports and get all his documents in order.
His temporary visa is only valid for three years. Already, that time is running out while she waits for a response to the request for her son.
More complex requests require a longer review. The delay can vary according to “a number of factors”, says a spokesperson for the Ministry of Immigration, Julie Lafortune.
The government aims to process temporary work permits within 60 days, but 25% of backlogs have taken longer and are in a backlog as of December 31, according to ministry statistics.
People who apply under the emergency program are offered “expedited and priority processing”, she said. It is the fastest way for Ukrainians and their families to travel to Canada.
Ms. Mishyna said she feels lucky compared to some people who are desperate to get to Canada. She has a house and a job in Warsaw, but she knows others who have not been so lucky.
Fading signs of support
Digital advertisements on the sidewalks and underground tunnels around Warsaw Central Station feature the Ukrainian coat of arms with messages of support for the beleaguered country, but other signs of support for refugees in Poland have begun to fade.
The vast public park opposite the station which was filled with tents and kiosks offering refugees food, aid and advice at the start of the war is now empty and many refugee centers have closed.
“I think it’s because of a lack of funding from local authorities,” said Andrii Melnyk, a former Ukrainian diplomat living in Warsaw.
He worked at the Canadian Visa Application Center in Warsaw shortly after the emergency program opened to Ukrainians and saw thousands of people rush to apply.
Since then, he said, international refugee centres, including those in Canada, have closed and accommodation spaces have been consolidated, leaving fewer beds for families who have not found a more stable solution. . Some people who were living in the shelters without visas or sufficient funds to go elsewhere have returned to Ukraine, Melnyk said.
Still, he says, Canada has done a good job of quickly opening its doors to refugees and adapting the program to meet the huge demand.
Of the more than 540,000 Ukrainians who received visas to come to Canada, only about 158,000 made the trip.
A Canadian visa is an insurance policy for some people who prefer to stay closer to home, argues Baran-Chong.
“We’ve heard people say, ‘If my husband gets killed, I’ll go to Canada because I have no reason to go’,” he says.
“Some of them were saying, ‘If my house is OK, I’ll come back, but if my house is destroyed, I’ll just start my new life in Canada.’ »
Some of these visa holders may also be men who are not allowed to leave Ukraine due to rules imposed under martial law in that country.
For others, the cost to travel to Canada is prohibitive. Canada organized three charter flights to bring 950 Ukrainians to Canada last year, but no further flights are currently planned.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress said there were free flights available, but not enough.
“If you are a refugee in Europe who has fled, you probably don’t have enough money to buy a plane ticket for you and your children to come to Canada,” argues the group’s executive director, Ihor Michalchyshyn. , interviewed in Ottawa.
“There are so many people (in Canada) who needed help, we didn’t even have time to think about those who couldn’t come. »
The relatively long wait for her and her son has Ms. Mishyna wondering if she will ever make the trip to Canada.
She now works to help other families in her country and has enrolled her son Nikita in school in Warsaw. Leaving now would mean uprooting him again and lead to more uncertainty when their visas expire.
Like other families arriving at the station in Poland, she says she wants some certainty about the future.