On the third anniversary of the war, the chariy's chairperson joined us on The Kent Morning Show.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Now, tell us a bit about what the past three years have been like for those Ukrainians
00:05who have made the move to Kent. We've spoken to many before, but what's that, I suppose,
00:10what's that difference like and how have you made Kent a home?
00:14Good morning. It is a really sad day today for all Ukrainians. Indeed, three years ago,
00:25many Ukrainians came to Kent to find a refuge. And over these three years, well, they found
00:34a new home, a new place for themselves, but that was a difficult experience for most of
00:39them. I remember how it started three years ago. We had dozens of people, desperate, coming
00:48to us, some of them from occupied territories, some of them from the front line. Some of
00:54them have their homes and everything behind being destroyed. So, the start was really,
01:01really rough. And, well, I represent the Ukrainian diaspora here in Kent. And together with our
01:09friends, we started helping those people coming to Canterbury in particular. And the first
01:18weeks and months were really difficult, where we had dozens of families coming, asking for
01:25help, asking for help with placement to find the ways around. And that's how the
01:33Canterbury for Ukraine started. Yes, you see the footage from those days. So, initially,
01:40what our volunteers did, we helped to connect those who were looking for a safe place to
01:46stay with hosts from Canterbury area. We helped them with placement, we helped them with
01:53adjustments, both Ukrainians and their hosts. The activity number one was really to help
02:01people settle. And then we added several other activities, Canterbury for Ukraine, I mean,
02:08with our partners, Canterbury Christchurch University. We started full scale English
02:14language classes, where more than 100 people simultaneously learned English, as many of them
02:21had no English whatsoever. And after these initial needs were addressed, the community
02:27evolved. We started activities that help them to support each other, help them to preserve
02:36the language, the culture. Our ladies started Ukrainian Ladies' Choir, which becomes a beacon of
02:44Ukrainian culture in Kent. With this choir, we attend many public events. Canterbury for Ukraine
02:53helped to establish a social support club for older age people, as a weekend school for
03:01Ukrainian children. And our organization supports many public events, and one of them is today.
03:09Yeah, of course, we've seen lots of events hosted by Canterbury for Ukraine over the past few years.
03:14But I'm just wondering, sort of three years on from when it was first conceived, what has it been
03:19like for the community in terms of settling into Canterbury and really sort of gelling with the
03:25local community?
03:25Well, many Ukrainians have integrated quite well, even though all Ukrainians want to go home as soon as
03:39it becomes safe to do so. But many of them just don't have a place to go back. And I think about 50% of
03:52adults have found a job. Kids learn language, they start going to local schools, and they build a
04:04network of Ukrainian people to support themselves. Canterbury for Ukraine supported them in this
04:12development. And I think the key thing was to find a way to support each other, to find people who
04:20lived through the same experience. And I think that was the major resource for those Ukrainians who
04:27end up here in Canterbury.
04:29There's been lots of developments over the last week with peace talks as well, starting, of course,
04:35between the US and Russia. Lots of tension surrounding those subjects, too. Lots of front
04:41pages. Has that pressure been felt by the community here, too?
04:47It's a very difficult feeling when one of our strongest allies now seems to be pulling off. But that's also a
04:57reminder that we Ukrainians and our European friends have to rely on ourselves. So for us, it was a
05:05wakening call that we really have to regroup, reorganize ourselves and keep pushing, keep fighting for our
05:15people, for our land, for our independence. But it was really a sad feeling.
05:21And of course, in the papers today, we're hearing President Zelensky saying that he's happy, happy, but he is
05:28willing to give up his role as president if it means peace talks can continue. What was your kind of immediate
05:34reaction to that? Obviously, President Zelensky has been a major voice throughout this war.
05:41I think Ukrainians are very lucky with our leader. We are proud of our leader. And we have majority, absolute
05:51majority of Ukrainians supporting President Zelensky. I think we are united behind him. And we don't have any
06:02political tension inside Ukraine. I think we all recognize that no elections are possible during the war.
06:11Just physically, it is not possible. And socially, it is accepted that we have to first win this war to have
06:19peace on our land, and then we'll have the next presidential election. But I just would like to reiterate,
06:27Zelensky is hugely popular among Ukrainians, and we are proud of him.