Now, perhaps, a critical moment has come when it is important for Ukrainian refugees abroad to decide on future plans and prospects.
At the end of the second year of a full-scale war, Ukrainian refugees in Europe are faced with a difficult choice - to return to their homeland, where a war is raging with no end in sight, or to finally take root in a foreign land.
The New York Times writes about this in a large article devoted to the fate of Ukrainian refugees.
“ The heart says to go back. But I want a better future for my daughter ,” explains 37-year-old Irina Khomich, who is now in Germany with her 8-year-old daughter, explaining this dilemma.
Despite the fact that recently there has been a growing negative attitude towards immigrants in public opinion in European countries, the local authorities consider the admission of Ukrainians a success. For example, in Germany they announced their desire to offer Ukrainian refugees a long-term future in the country without reference to events in Ukraine itself.
For the refugees themselves, Europe has not yet fully become a new home. In Germany, only one out of five Ukrainians found a job. Often this is hindered by the German bureaucracy: if you live in a temporary home for refugees and do not have a “private” address, your child will not be accepted to school, and you cannot leave him unattended; hiring a nanny is expensive. Not everyone can afford to move into rented housing either – again, it’s expensive.
But despite this, there are gradually becoming more and more people who consider Europe as their new home. NYT gives the example of 25-year-old Valeria Mikhailova. The woman herself is from Donetsk and saw the war as a teenager. She is now in Germany with her 8-year-old daughter and her Moroccan boyfriend, whom she met in Kharkov. Now the couple intends to open their own pastry shop in Berlin.
“ I really, really miss Ukraine, but I’m starting to relive my youth ,” says the woman.
The mayor of the German city of Freiburg, which received more Ukrainian refugees than the whole of France, said that after the strategic situation for Ukraine at the front improved last year, many Ukrainians went home, but many remained.
“ The first 8, 10, 12 months they waited more and thought: “Then we will return, we will build a new Ukraine after the war.” But now they are learning German and looking for work ,” said Freiburg Mayor Martin Horn.
He acknowledged the difficult emotional choices involved in the decision to stay, but said that from the city's perspective, Ukrainians have become an asset that can fill the city's job gap.
“ We need them ,” he said.
