City couple scrambles to bring Ukrainian aunt, cousin to Canada

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This article was published 05/04/2022 (997 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg couple are acting as translators and immigration advocates to bring family members who are escaping Russia’s war on Ukraine to safety in Canada.

St. Vital residents Dmytro Yamchuk, 34, and his wife Susan Yamchuk, 35, are navigating language barriers, time zones and immigration services to bring Dmytro’s aunt Olena Bontsarivska, 45, and cousin Katya Yamchuk, 19, to Winnipeg, where they will stay with family until their future back home is decided.

The mother and daughter are currently staying in a small city in southern Poland; Susan connected the pair with her friend’s aunt, who has taken them in. Dmytro has stayed in touch with Olena and Katya through email — sometimes corresponding at 3 a.m. while it’s daytime in Ukraine.

“Somehow, we’re managing to communicate information,” Dmytro said. He added that online translators have helped them get by because he, the host family, and his aunt and cousin speak different combinations of English, Polish, and Ukrainian.

Initially, Olena and Katya deemed it too dangerous to leave their home in Mykolaiv — a city of about 480,000 people in southern Ukraine. There was no clear way out because of interruptions to train service,” Dmytro said.

When Russian strikes killed dozens in the port city, the mother and daughter decided to flee by bus, leaving behind Dmytro’s uncle and grandmother. Martial law prevented the father from leaving the country; health issues and advanced age kept the grandmother in Ukraine.

The grandmother is sheltering with the uncle in Mykolaiv after departing her home in the nearby village of Snihurivka.

Dmytro said they have no heat; other times, no electricity. But the internet connection is strong. With overnight temperatures hovering just above freezing in Mykolaiv, Dmytro’s uncle has joined Skype meetings bundled up.

Two days after leaving home, Olena and Katya crossed into Poland. The challenge now is for Dmytro and Susan to get their family to Canada through the federal government’s emergency travel measures for Ukrainians.

The couple hit a roadblock when the application called for photographs and fingerprints from Olena and Katya. The aunt, a seamstress, and the cousin, who’s studying graphic design at university, arrived with only a handful of personal items —neither has an international passport.

“We just feel so not in control in the situation — just not being able to be there to assist,” Susan said.

Dmytro, who’s a medical laboratory technician, and Susan, a sourcing specialist at BGIS, both have Ukrainian roots. Dymtro was born in Kyiv, and immigrated to Canada in 2002; Susan’s parents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in the 1980s. The couple met in Winnipeg.

Susan said she and her husband have felt supported by the community in their bid to bring their family to Canada. The Immigrant Centre Manitoba has helped translate and notarize documents, and the Polish hosts have helped co-ordinate travel.

“It makes the world feel a little bit smaller, closer when you feel like you have that connection,” Susan said.

The next step is for Olena and Katya to travel to an appointment at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw. Once they land in Canada after their emergency visa is approved, they will stay with Viktoriya Yamchuk, Dmytro’s mother.

“We will protect them. We will help them,” Yamchuk said. “We try to help our people as much as possible.”

The 59-year-old accompanist for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet has four generations of family living in her St. Vital home. The house is busy, but the door will always be open to those who need help.

“We’re a busy house, but we can always help people who need help,” Yamchuk said.

Dmytro has launched a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of bringing his aunt and cousin to Canada. The fundraiser can be found under the username Dima Yamchuk.

katlyn. streilein@freepress.mb.ca