There has been an increase in the number of people fleeing the war in Ukraine coming to Calgary since March 2022, according to staff at the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) – the primary organization helping Ukrainians settle in Calgary.
On February 24, 2022—the day the war in Ukraine began, Hannah Wakhovska remembers hearing the sound of bombing and feeling her house shake.
She stayed in an underground shelter for 10 days, not knowing whether she would make it out alive.
“Every day in the shelter in Mariupol, when the bombs were coming to us, we thought maybe it’s just for two days and it will end but it continues and continues and I can’t imagine that people are still in Ukraine How are you,” Wakhovcsa said in Calgary on Saturday.
Wakhovska, her husband and sister have been living in Calgary since October, after a long and sometimes perilous journey from Mariupol and finding temporary shelter in three other countries in Europe.
She worries about her parents and teenage siblings back home near Donetsk.
“After a big bombing, they every time told me ‘well maybe we will apply for visa for Ukrainians,’ but after a few days they say ‘no, it’s okay, we live in our native home’ ,” Wakhovska said.
“Because they live under war since 2014 – it’s crazy to say – but they are used to living under bombardment,”
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In addition to working at the airport with CCIS, Wakhovska volunteered at a clothing donation event for Ukrainian women on Saturday.
“It’s difficult. It doesn’t fix the sadness they’ve experienced, but hopefully I believe enough in the power of community that this will be a really positive day for them because they’ve been through so much,” Kristen said Cloke, who partnered with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society to host the event.
Cloak donated designer items and CCIS offered space where women and children could eat lunch.
In addition to shopping at the event, the women had a chance to socialize with other newcomers and form new friendships.
CCIS staff say there is a great need for more donated items as about 100 people per day are now arriving at the Calgary airport from Ukraine.
Many are worried about when Canada’s temporary resident program will end, while others are giving up hope that the war will end soon.
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“Many people are still devastated and have nowhere to live and have been in Europe for a while and can’t go back home,” said Katrina Bryz, program facilitator for CCIS.
“The war is nowhere near the end, and we still have to remember that that’s why people are coming – just to find a better life, to settle somewhere because they can’t live in limbo.
“The need is huge because we have so many people coming in,” Brez said.
Wachowska’s apartment that she and her husband bought just before the war began has been damaged and is expected to be demolished this spring.
Still, she remains grateful and often wonders if the trauma she experienced over the past year was a dream.
“Canada is a good, safe place for us to start a new life from scratch because we lost everything in Ukraine.
“Maybe I died in Mariupol and now everything is wonderful. What has happened to me now is like a miracle. Maybe I died and this is my second life.
The temporary resident visa program expires at the end of March.
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