No fridge. No running water.
The windows exploded, the front door flew into the sky.
You had to sit in the middle of the ruins with a top coat on because the temperature in the apartment was seven degrees.
I saw it once Oleg Marchenko Mariupol, which has been ravaged by shelling for weeks. During them, he lost 15 kilos.
Thanks to his ingenuity, Marchenko became a corner hero. In this video, he explains why.
Now Marchenko has two rooms and a kitchen, in Riihimäki.
Marchenko and his wife and a family of relatives live in Kimppakämpa.
So far, more than 45,000 people like them have come to Finland. 7,000 have left the country.
The remaining 38,000 were wondering, like Marchenko, whether to leave or stay.
“We knew that even dogs can get help”
Oleg Marchenko owned a sportswear store in Mariupol. In the Russian attack, the shopping center was destroyed and the business burned to the ground.
Economy wife Natalia Marchenko worked as a supervisor in a bank.
There is also a cousin in Riihimäki’s roommate Mary, 26, and his spouse lias Bazayev, 28, as well as Olivia3. The parents are lawyers by training.
Viisiko’s escape from Mariupol across Russia took ten days. We only took what was necessary, including winter clothes.
The families arrived in Finland on the last Saturday of August.
Already on Monday they had an apartment in Riihimäki.
One of the reasons for that is the Jack Russell terrier Arisha.
– We knew that dogs are well received in Finland and that they too get help, says Marchenko.
According to him, many others who came with pets have also got their own apartment in Riihimäki.
Still, dogs are not the only thing that makes Ukrainians different from the refugees who came before.
“I can’t rest on my laurels”
About six thousand Ukrainian adults have registered as job seekers at TE offices. This has also been done by Oleg Marchenko and other adults in the roommate.
One in five of the newcomers is actively looking for a job. At the same time, about a thousand Finnish companies are interested in hiring people like Marchenko.
So far, the employment of Ukrainians has been disappointing. At least for those who have hoped for relief from the labor shortage.
The main reason is the lack of language skills.
Marchenko doesn’t speak English either. One in three of the newcomers says they know the language, but very few, even among the highly educated, can use English as their working language.
That’s why Finnish is studied diligently at Riihimäki. The Marchenkos and Bazaieves have lessons four times a week. Twice remote, twice present.
– Even though I don’t speak Finnish yet, I can’t just rest on my laurels, says Marchenko.
He was originally a cook, but could also do cleaning or warehouse work. A career as a truck driver would also be suitable, as Marchenko has the necessary driver’s license.
Marchenko’s compatriots are best employed in seasonal agricultural work. Food services, cleaning and construction, and industry have also offered temporary but also permanent employment.
Equivalencies of degrees and professional qualifications, however, affect employment, especially in the social security sector. There is no accurate register data on the employment of Ukrainians.
For Marchenko, a job is perhaps only a matter of time. On the day of the interview, he took a hygiene pass.
Besides that, he has other things to do.
“The child ran under the table”
Since the outcome of the war is not known, the future of the Ukrainians is shrouded in darkness.
One of the uninformed is Marchenko’s roommate Ilias Bazaiev. He is the only one of Riihimäki’s group who can converse in English.
When the war started nine months ago, Bazaiev was celebrating. The brother went to the front almost from that seat. Bazaiev could not, because he has not completed military service due to asthma.
Now Bazaiev is in a conflicting situation.
He is drawn to Ukraine by relatives, a brother wounded at the front, and a 93-year-old uncle. But the wife would like to stay, because her daughter Olivia would have a more stable future in Finland.
– At first, the child ran under the table in fear every time he heard the sound of an airplane. But not anymore, says Bazaiev.
Like Olivia, every third of the visitors is a child.
Many attend two schools: Finnish first and Ukrainian in the evenings. The reason is that the parents don’t want the children to fall off the wagon if they still return home.
Playful Olivia attends early childhood education in Riihimäki, which Ukrainian children can enter at their own discretion.
– I believe that Olivia will learn the language first and start school in Finland, says uncle Oleg Marchenko.
In August, the residents of Riihimäki’s shared apartment will turn one year old in Finland. The war refugees who arrived first will be able to apply for a place of residence at the beginning of March 2023.
After that, compulsory education also applies to their children.
For the municipality, it means monitoring responsibility to ensure that schools are also attended and that they are extended to the second level.
How this affects the desire of Ukrainians to apply to municipalities is still a mystery.
“We will become Finnish citizens”
Sharing bread, feeling like a porter and receiving food aid.
Marchenko does unpaid volunteer work five days a week at the assistance center for Ukrainians in Vallila, Helsinki. He goes there by train from Riihimäki.
In this video, Marchenko tells why volunteering is part of the reason he wants to stay in Finland.
Another reason is Finnish healthcare. Both human and animal.
Even now, all Ukrainian refugees who have applied for temporary protection are entitled to health services. Marchenko was able to see an ophthalmologist and got new glasses. Arisha also went to the vet.
– Maybe we will become Finnish citizens, thinks Marchenko.
Previously, the most important thing in life was financial success: a car and an apartment. says Marchenko. When the fighting started, he realized that it could all be lost in an instant.
Still, Santa also arrives in Riihimäki. Although only in January, according to the Julian calendar. Music and fun will not be seen in the kimpkampä this year.
– We sit together at the table and eat, that’s all, says Marchenko.
You can watch the mini doc from Riihimäki’s kimppakämki from this link:
For the case, we have received additional information from Susanna Pieppose, a special expert at the Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs, Ulla Harmose, head of the Immigration Office’s situation center, researcher Arseniy Svynarenko from the Youth Research Society, Anu Wikman-Immose, a special expert at the Municipal League, Katja Mannerstöm, the social relations manager of the Refugee Service, and director Irina Eteläaho.
You can discuss the topic until Thursday 29.12. until 11 p.m.