Joined by representatives from the Stratford Police Service and Perth-Wellington MP John Nater’s officer, the Multicultural Association of Perth Huron welcome the first of nearly a dozen Ukrainian refugees to arrive in Stratford and the surrounding Perth county in recent days.
The first of the refugees fleeing the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine for the safety of the Stratford region have arrived in the city.
Representatives from Stratford police and Perth-Wellington MP John Nater’s officer joined the Multicultural Association of Perth Huron Wednesday morning to welcome Yana Onasenko, 27, of Kyiv, and Maksym Nurmanov, 25, of Lutsk as the first Ukrainian refugees to arrive in Stratford.
“Thank you for welcoming (us), (and for) your kindness and friendli(ness),” Onasenko said during a press conference at The Bruce Hotel. “In the future, we will work close with (association executive director Dr. Gezahgn Wordofa) and the volunteers. It’s very important because a lot of the Ukrainians don’t know the English language, and we can be translators and provide some help. Maksym and I have (gone through the refugee process) and we understand what to do and how we can help our people from Ukraine.
“Thank you for your support and we will work together.”
Onasenko, who worked as a finance company’s operational manager before the war, and Nurmanov, a dental technician who worked in construction in Poland to make enough money to come to Canada, arrived in Stratford Friday. They came in on the same flight as Wordofa and several association volunteers who were in Poland and Ukraine last week helping refugees fill out immigration and resettlement paperwork and delivering supplies in the Ukrainian border town of Lviv.
Wordofa also noted that four other families had arrived – or will be arriving – across Perth, Huron and Wellington counties in the coming days. An additional 31 Ukrainian refugee families have successfully applied for immigration visas and will also be resettling across the region in the near future.
“If we’re called upon to assist displaced Ukrainians after they arrive in Perth-Wellington, we will be able to help them with any federal matter that impacts their lives, be that obtaining a social insurance number, confirming work permits, changing their immigration status, receiving benefits or anything else,” Tim Sparks, executive assistant for Perth-Wellington MP John Nater, told the Beacon Herald at the beginning of the conference.
“Our office regularly works in conjunction with the MPP’s office as many issues include federal and provincial components, and I know that collaboration will continue as Ukrainians settle in the riding and seek help starting new lives for their families.”
As Ukrainian refugees continue arriving in the region, they will be provided temporary housing, thanks to more than 100 area host families who have offered spare rooms, apartments and houses, Wordofa said. All of these donors have been screened with vulnerable-sector background checks conducted by provincial police and local police departments.
“Stratford is a great city,” Stratford police Chief Greg Skinner said at Wednesday’s conference. “This is my hometown and I’m very proud to be a resident of Stratford. And I’m very proud to share it because I think that is all part and parcel or what makes a city a great place to live, is being open and welcoming and having others come and share in the experience of Stratford that we have the privilege , in my opinion, to be able to experience. … The people here are ready, willing and able to support you in any way that you need. … I have no comprehension of what you have experienced in your young lives so far … but I want you to have positive experiences here. I want you to know that the police are here for you, to help you.”
Wordofa listed off nearly a dozen employers in Stratford and Perth County who have reached out to the multicultural association with employment opportunities for the incoming Ukrainians. As refugees arrive, they are also being provided with the food, household items and personal supplies needed to begin their new lives in Southwestern Ontario, thanks to money raised through the multicultural association’s ongoing Ukraine refugee resettlement fundraising campaign.
“We are eager to help you … live in peace,” Wordofa said. “Nobody is stopping you. Nobody is asking for your documents. Nobody cares what kind of clothes you are dressing in. … We just want you to know you are safe. … You are home now.”
As the multicultural association and other local volunteer groups continue to help the refugees resettle in the region, Wordofa once again asked area residents to continue donating to the multicultural association’s campaign to help the organization pay for plane tickets for Ukrainians who are waiting to come to Southwestern Ontario.
For more information and to donate, visit maph.caemail [email protected], or call 1-888-308-MAPH (6274).