HQN Deputy Chief Executive Lydia Dlaboha, herself Ukrainian, spoke with Maryna, a well-known broadcaster who has had to flee Ukraine with her young son. First, here is Maryna’s story…

The scariest day of my life

On 24 February, at 5 o’clock in the morning, I woke up to the most terrifying sounds in my life: the sounds of rocket explosions. In Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in the very centre of Europe, Russian missiles fell one after another. I realised that war had come to my country again. Full-scale. Destructive. At the time, none of us could imagine how terrible it would turn out to be. The Russian military has destroyed cities, towns and villages, including civilians and civilian infrastructure, and committed war crimes.

Homes for Ukraine: Six months of care and peace in Britain

It is more than six months since I moved to Great Britain with my son. We live in England under the Homes for Ukraine programme. We were provided with shelter by a couple of wonderful people. We were moved to tears when we arrived and saw how they greeted us: they decorated the small house with blue and yellow flowers, and they hung a Ukrainian flag in the yard for us. My son and I felt like welcomed guests here. My British family took care of everything to make it as easy as possible for us to adapt to life in a new country. The government’s programme is unprecedented and offered Ukrainians all the benefits that British people are entitled to.

You have to start from the very bottom of the ladder

It appeared that it would be easier for immigrants here than in other European countries – after all, everyone (almost) learned English at school, and therefore they would not be having to start from scratch. But most Ukrainian refugees do have to start ‘all over again’, unless they have high level English, or an international diploma or IT experience. I am one of those and consider myself lucky because I managed to find a job as a shop assistant in a small, cosy local bakery shop. I work part-time, four hours a day. This allows me to take my son to and from school. Plus, it provides me with a huge opportunity to practice my English. Every day I communicate with over 50 different people.

My new Ukrainian acquaintances have been less fortunate. A married couple from Mariupol (a city that the Russian army occupied and destroyed completely, killing tens of thousands) found a job at a food packaging factory. These people have a high level of education as well as experience of running a publishing business. They pack lettuce leaves for 12 hours a day, and on their days off they teach English and mathematics in order to maintain their general level of literacy and hopefully help them to find a job that is more like what they did in Ukraine.

Another friend, an experienced chief accountant and a mother of three children, with an intermediate level of language skills, is happy because she has managed to get a job washing dishes and can earn an extra few pounds working for several hours a day between her daughters’ schools and nursery.

Loss of identity 

I am a journalist and a well-known Ukrainian TV presenter. I have over 20 years’ professional experience. My specialism is news, socio-political journalism and communications. I have interviewed presidents, dozens of Ukrainian government officials, influential experts in various fields, public figures, and representatives of Ukrainian and world culture. Here, my experience is of little interest to anyone, and my lack of English is a real barrier, turning me into a low/unskilled worker.

But when I send my CV to local shops or cafes, I am told that I am overqualified to squeeze juice or stack shelves. The Jobcentre, on the other hand, disregards my Ukrainian experience and directs me to the supermarket to “try” the warehouse and advises me to look in café windows for job vacancies. Actually, that is how I found my job.

It doesn’t make sense to remain on benefits but…

Ukrainians were issued a three-year work visa and were given access to unemployment benefits. The British refugee assistance system is not designed to support people on benefits for years. The amount for a mother and one child is £634, with an additional £87 entitlement per child, each month, plus a one-off benefit of £400 for two is allocated on arrival by the local council.

If you work full-time, you can earn this amount of money in a week. However, the majority of Ukrainian women who have found shelter in Britain cannot work because they are not able to leave their children with anyone. They do not have support networks. Nurseries will only take children from the age of three for 15 hours per week. It is a little easier with older children – you can leave them at school for extra hours, but that’s £11 a day.

The work situation in England is fundamentally different to that of most European countries. Locals are understanding towards emigrants. They try to help refugees find work as soon as possible and take people on even without them knowing the language. In England, many foreign workers left the country due to Brexit and Covid, so there are plenty of jobs available and Ukrainians can fill these positions. The British are friendly and help Ukrainians find work.

The risk of becoming homeless and ending up on the street

I feel lucky that I was housed by a family that lives outside of London. This is potentially a significant saving for me as, sooner or later, the sponsor period will end, and I will have to look for a property to rent. The average monthly rent for a flat in London is upwards of £1,800. However, the cost is not the only obstacle. Renting a flat or house in Great Britain is like winning the lottery. Today, there are long queues for viewing apartments in big cities, and even in small towns. Plus Ukrainians face an additional problem: most landlords do not want to rent their properties to Ukrainian refugees as they are not seen as a ‘good, reliable option’.

I applied to view 20 properties and was rejected all 20 times. Landlords want evidence of your income; they ask for recommendations/references from previous landlords and also for a guarantor. They want you to have an impeccable credit history (Ukrainians do not have this and cannot show this for obvious reasons). Landlords do not want people with children. They want tenants who speak English, and they do not want unreliable tenants.

Ukrainians fit into all the wrong categories and so are immediately asked to provide deposits in the region of six to 12 months’ rent. They are beaten by the British in the ‘10 applicants for one house’ competition. You cannot find a job; you cannot show income. You cannot show income; you cannot rent housing. If you cannot rent, you will go home – and there is a war at home.

Soon, thousands of people who came here under the Homes for Ukraine programme may end up on the street and the British government does not yet have a solution. For many, the first six months was difficult, but the people of Great Britain opened their doors to them, shared housing and helped with everyday life. The government compensated sponsor families with £350 a month. Back in the spring, this amount was quite enough to cover utilities, but, with the cost-of-living crisis, it is not today.

 The British government offers no alternatives

The UK government knows that a humanitarian crisis is inevitable. Ukrainians have already met with representatives of the relevant ministries but do not see any signs that they have solutions to this problem. Councils can temporarily accommodate Ukrainians who become homeless – for example, in hotels – and look for social housing or rematch with new sponsors.

But the system is not designed to cope with the fact that thousands of people may all at the same time find themselves with nowhere to live.

It is not clear how the situation will develop for me and my son. I know already that I have to leave my sponsors, but so far no one has given me the chance of even one viewing of a potential property. On the official Homes for Ukraine portal, the government politely asks hosts to think about accommodating their Ukrainian guests “as long as possible”.

Why Britain?

I have a long standing great respect for British history and culture and way of life. Due to the principled and decisive position of the government and the public regarding Ukraine, I have had the opportunity to come here for safety and gain an interesting experience. Britain’s caring and practical attitude towards refugees from Ukraine means a great deal to me. And I appreciate that Homes for Ukraine gives Ukrainian refugees the same entitlement allowed to the British themselves. Whilst I still have to work on and improve my English language, I am far more proficient in it than in my other foreign languages.

How is Maryna managing?

When asked about how she was coping Maryna said that this was her “new reality” – something which no one could ever have prepared her for. The reason she kept going was for her son. She was struggling but felt this was insignificant compared to the horrors that others are going through – what the military is facing on the frontline, the civilians in occupied territories, the losses suffered by other mothers.

She appreciates the experience that she is gaining as well as her ability to volunteer and help the war effort, which she is doing through her social media and articles that she was writing as a journalist for various publications.

She felt that she had become a different person who she was still getting to know. She sticks to a daily schedule, focuses on learning English and acquiring new knowledge and skills. She is nervous about her immediate future – if she will be able to get accommodation and be able to afford to pay for it. She finds it hard when everything is unfamiliar – not knowing the systems and processes, who and where to go for advice and difficulties with English.

Maryna looks forward to the day when she can return to her home. Her 11-year-old son inspires her and helps to keep her together. She clings on to the precious things in her life: her son, the Ukrainian flag, parents and friends, faith in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

There is hope

Maryna returned to Ukraine over the October half term and, despite the conditions, felt these were her “best 10 days during the war”.

She said: “There were sirens, rockets every day. We saw destroyed cities, villages, sorrow and pain. There is no light, water and it is cold.”

But it was here that she felt the “warmest”. Everything was familiar – the smells and the sounds and all the walls covered with photos and trinkets that preserve the memory of her entire life.

Before this trip, she thought that the war had taken away her past and divided her life into “before” and “after”, but she now understands there is “here and now” and there is a war going in on her life. She is less anxious but she is angry and has additional strength. Before her trip home, she felt ashamed to be a foreigner, but now realises how much has been done for Ukraine during these past months and how much more can be done: “There are so many people who are working together to help Ukraine return to life without war and for Ukrainians to return to our home forever.”