ukraine
Interview with Tetiana
Interview with Tetiana Havrylkova Our beneficiary | Please tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Tatiana Havrylkova, I am 48 years old. I am from Kharkiv, Ukraine. How did you arrive in Romania? Who joined you? On March 16, 2022, I came to Romania with my son because I was forced to leave Ukraine to escape the war, as the city of Kharkiv was the first to come under fire. And it was dangerous to be there. What interesting and valuable things did you discover and what difficulties did you encounter in Romania? Romania is a beautiful country, rich in history and beautiful nature. We faced many difficulties. It was difficult to find housing, we didn’t get used to food, there were not enough funds to buy clothes, since we left Ukraine with only the most necessary things. And the main problem we faced was lack of knowledge of the Romanian language. Without knowledge of the language, it is difficult to find a job. How did ARCA support you particularly? ARCA, or rather, its employees helped me make a CV, called employers and various organizations, accompanied me to an interview, and I am very grateful to them for that. Thanks to ARCA, I found a job and got the opportunity to provide for my family. Describe your experience with finding a job in Romania. It was very difficult to find a job without knowing the language. However I tried to find it myself, but it did not lead to success. Thanks to cooperation with the ARCA organization, they found a vacancy for me as a cook in a restaurant. ARCA employees arranged a meeting and accompanied me to the interview. Thanks to the support of the ARCA, I was accepted and I have been working for more than 3 months. What did you wish to find in Romania and you didn’t find? In Romania I hoped to receive protection and help. Of course, I did not find support from the state from the first days of being in Romania, I also cannot expect help from the state, benefits are not paid, and housing is very expensive. You have to rely only on yourself. Unfortunately, I believe that Romania does not fulfill its obligations to the European Union by accepting Ukrainians. Only certain non-governmental organizations, like ARCA, provide assistance. What are your plans for the future if returning to Ukraine would not be an option? Do you think about staying in Romania or going to another country? I cannot answer this question. In Romania, people are not valued, their work is not valued, the laws do not work, and I am convinced of this, because I have been here for almost 2 years. And I’m thinking about changing the country. The current article is part of a series of communication materials with the overall objective to increase awareness around migration-related issues through #constructive narratives. The project #UkraineNow is co-financed by the European Union through Erasmus+. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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Christmas Event
How celebrating together can be seen as a step towards local integration On the coming Christmas Holidays in Romania, we found the perfect occasion to celebrate together with the Ukrainian community. Brings the spirit of Christmas On 19th of December ARCA organized a cultural event at the intersection of multiple relevant events, both international and national, Ukrainian and Romanian. We met on this day with the occasion of International Migrants Day (18th of December), St. Nicholas Day in Ukraine (19th of December) and Christmas on 25th of December in both Romania and officially also in Ukraine since the legislative change took place in Ukraine in the middle of 2023. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar. We made a public invitation to Ukrainian families, but places were limited. So mothers and children who called first were given priority to participate. The event gathered 111 participants. It was definitely a challenge for our team members to manage all people’s kind requests, while cramming in a reasonably sized office space. Drawing on the board was a leisure activity keeping children preoccupied and enthusiastic about the Christmas holidays, some moments to unleash their creative potential. Adults also assisted children with drawing, becoming not just a source of joy for children, but an opportunity for parents to guide children in their artistic expression. Gift sharing was also on our agenda Christmas presents for young children were prepared before, ready to be offered by Santa’s assistants to the little ones. The packages included fruits, sweets and snacks, as well as stationary in case they enjoyed drawing and coloring. This opportunity was used to provide assistance to other organizations, special presents for teens over the age of 15 were distributed also, Romanian Angel Appeal being the organization who offered them to ARCA to be assisted with one of their specific activities addressing youth. 82 children received gifts from our sponsors and spent time with pleasure in a cheerful atmosphere. FOR A SUCCESSFUL CELEBRATION CONSIDER AN AGENDA THAT INCLUDES WILLINGNESS COOPERATION TOGETHERNESS BENEVOLENCE PLAYING SHARING JOY HOME COOKED FOOD GATHERING US ALL AROUND THE TABLE CHRISTMAS TREE & CAROLS FRUITS & SWEETS FREE TALKS LAUGHTER RELAXATION As members of the civil society we consider that by working on creating a welcoming environment and offering the migrant community a shared space of values and traditions more possible steps can be taken towards local integration, thus building on the existing commonalities while addressing the existing gaps and differences. The wellbeing of people is vital for any efforts to be considered further as required by any new society in terms of language, culture, employment prospects and social integration. In the end, a good human relationship with the other triggers the best results in any of us. Happy New Year! The current article is part of a series of communication materials with the overall objective to increase awareness around migration-related issues through #constructive narratives. The project #UkraineNow is co-financed by the European Union through Erasmus+. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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Interview – Insights on integration in Romania
Interview – Insights on integration in Romania Please tell us a little bit about yourself Anastasiia My name is Anastasiia. I’m from Odessa, Ukraine. I’m 38, married with a child. I like to travel and have visited a lot of interesting places. Like to watch people and learn new cultures. Worked at the Medical University for 15 years at the department of Foreign languages. I have a lot of relatives and friends. I’m an open-minded, communicative and responsible person. Have a lot of experience working with people and teaching. How did you arrive in Romania? Did you come alone or together with your family? I came to Romania in December 2022 with my husband, daughter and our dog. My daughter and I were in Ireland before, but decided to move closer to our homeland. My husband joined us. How were you greeted by the Romanian community? I had a good experience with Romanian volunteers that I met in May 2022, when I first came to Romania. First I crossed the border with Romania on a ferry. We were met by wonderful hearty people from the Red Cross who made shelter in Isakcha and greeted Ukrainians. They helped us to get to Bucharest where we had a flight to Dublin. When I rejected the Irish Protection and came to Romania in December it wasn’t easy to collect all the information and receive Temporary Protection here. We found different resources online with explanations of where to go and how to organize our documents. What difficulties did you encounter? First of all is a language barrier. I was sure that it wouldn’t be a problem to communicate in English, but lucky me, I often face people who don’t speak English, especially in day-to-day life. Second problem was accommodation. It was difficult to find a flat. We changed several places. Hopefully, we found a nice owner and have been renting a flat for a year. And the last difficulty is laws and procedures which are not usual sometimes and take too much time to solve. How was your integration process for you and your family? I easily found an educational hub for my daughter. Unfortunately she doesn’t receive a complete education in Romania. She doesn’t know Romanian well enough to study in local schools and we decided to continue her education online in Ukrainian school and offline here in the hub for socialization. She also plays basketball in a local team with Romanian children. And visits different clubs here. As for me, I found a job one month after my arrival in ARCA Romanian Forum for Refugees and Migrants in a position of translator. And now occupy the double position of a translator and database operator. How did ARCA support you particularly? I work in a good team. My colleagues are very supportive and always ready to help. We often eat together and share differences in our cultures. One of my colleagues, Mihaela, helped to find a place for my daughter in a basketball team. My daughter participates in different events which ARCA performs, not because she is my daughter, but as a beneficiary of ARCA’s Club. And we also received some financial help as well as other beneficiaries of ARCA. The most that I appreciate is that ARCA gives me the ability to help Ukrainians. We receive a lot of requests from our beneficiaries and try to solve their issues together. What did you find valuable in Romania? Romania looks like my Ukraine, similar culture, history, religion, traditions and weather. For me it’s valuable that I can watch movies in the cinema in English. Nature is valuable to me and I like to travel around Romania and visit its authentic cities. And I appreciate that Romania accepted so many Ukrainians, but I’m disappointed that the Government doesn’t fulfill its obligations regarding EU support programs. What are your plans for the future if returning to Ukraine would not be an option? Do you think about staying in Romania or going to another country? I was always a person who made plans and tried to achieve them. But our War in Ukraine taught me that everything could be damaged in one second. Now I don’t make plans in advance. I live in a flow. Until I have a job here I feel safe, because I know that I can pay my rent, bills, and food. Until circumstances don’t push me to the next step I won’t plan. My favorite quote is “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go harmful. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” by Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. The current article is part of a series of communication materials with the overall objective to increase awareness around migration-related issues through #constructive narratives. The project #UkraineNow is co-financed by the European Union through Erasmus+. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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