Local organization works to support Ukrainian refugeesDate: 2/21/2023 WESTFIELD – One year has passed since the Russian Federation launched a full-fledged invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Since then, thousands of Ukrainians have fled the violence, with many coming to Western Massachusetts where there is already a population of immigrants from Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.
Russia’s initial pledge to take Kyiv in three days failed, with Ukrainian forces having pushed them away from the capital and back into the eastern part of the country.
While the war and uncertainty continued, those refugees remained here, and began adapting to life in the U.S. For many, their first steps are to try to learn English.
The Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts began a program to teach English to refugees living in the area when there was an influx of refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War. They again began to teach refugees from Afghanistan when there was an influx in 2021 after the U.S. pulled out and the Taliban retook control of the country.
In July of last year, they added Ukrainians to their list of adult refugee English students when many arrived here in the months after the Russian invasion began.
“Jewish Family Services has been providing classes for whatever groups have been coming in,” said Marilyn Sandidge, who teaches some of the refugees.
Sandidge does not know any Ukrainian herself, but said it has been easier than one would think to teach English to native Ukrainian speakers, with occasional assistance from Google Translate, but also because the refugees have been dutifully helping each other in the learning process. If one were to sit in on one of their classes in the Westfield Athenaeum, you would believe it.
Yuliia and Natalia Pomaznuik originate from Odessa, a Ukrainian city in the country’s south on the coast of the Black Sea. Odessa has generally been spared from some of the worst of the fighting, like what has been seen in places like Mariupol and the country’s east, but the sisters-in-law said that they felt it was time to leave on March 21, 2022, less than one month after the invasion began.
“It was getting scarier to stay over there. Out of fear the kids weren’t sleeping at night. Everyone was having anxiety,” said Yuliia, who had the arduous task of getting her four children from Odessa to Western Massachusetts. Natalia brought her eight children.
They spoke with translation assistance from Alina Dyachenko, who also works with Jewish Family Services.
The Pomaznuiks each owned separate floral companies in Ukraine before they left. Since coming here, they said their time has been largely occupied by caring for their families, and learning the language, which Yuliia said is much easier for her to understand than it is to speak so far. Her mother remained in Odessa, which she said compels her to keep updated on any news from the conflict on a daily basis.
As far as culture, they said the biggest shocks to them were the differences in the healthcare process between Ukraine and the U.S., with Ukraine being a little more straightforward. The other shock, as Natalia said, was the difference in clothing. In particular, Natalia said she was surprised at first by the number of people who would go out and about in their pajamas.
“In Ukraine, everyone always dresses a certain way when they are out. Here we noticed people wear pajamas outside which is something we have never seen before,” said Natalia. “But that’s not a bad thing,” she said laughing.
The war does not have a clear end in sight. Ukraine has made considerable gains from the height of Russia’s advance, but much of the Donbas region remains firmly in Russian control. Whenever the war may end, Yuliia said she hopes to return to Odessa to see her mother and visit her home city, but perhaps not with the intention of staying.
“If the war ends completely, I probably would want to return home. But just to visit, I really like it here,” said Yuliia.
The pair said they are thinking of starting a flower business somewhere locally if they would be allowed to. As of now, Yuliia said they wished they had a little more certainty about their status in the U.S., and hope they can later be made eligible for legal immigration status, which she said they currently are not as refugees.
“We just want more certainty into what their life will look like in a couple years,” said Yuliia.
They both expressed gratitude for the support they’ve received from Jewish Family Services.
In the meantime, the process of learning English continues through the classes at the Westfield Athenaeum. Currently, they are learning through a modified version of “Gulliver’s Travels” for English learners. In one part of the book they are reading through, Lemuel Gulliver experiences the famous scene of landing on the island of Lilliput occupied by tiny people who tie him down on a beach before accepting him into their society as a giant.
Gulliver then has to go through the process of learning their language, which he is apparently able to do in one month, to which the refugee students laughed and sounded perplexed, even questioning that timeline in relatively good English.
Susan Quandt, who teaches part of the class along with Marilyn Sandidge, said that the progress Gulliver made in the book is surely not too far off from the progress they themselves have made since July.
“Remember back in the summertime, you knew almost no English,” said Quandt to a group of students that included the Pomaznuiks. “Now look at you. You can make jokes, laugh, make plans.”
To Sandidge, teaching the different groups of refugees has been worth the effort.
“This is incredibly fulfilling. We love doing this, these people are so nice and appreciative,” said Sandidge.
|
