Another family from Ukraine arrived in Prince George over the weekend.
Charles Scott from PG for Ukraine said it took that family 55 hours to get here.
“If you’re leaving Ukraine, you are literally leaving a warzone. If you’re leaving Poland or other places, you’re leaving on a transportation system that’s attempting to navigate 4 million displaced people that it has to accommodate. So there’s a measure of uncertainty that we’re not used to.”
Scott said 10 families are now in Prince George, and another four are on their way, but he suggests that could be just the beginning.
“It’s important to understand the scale here. 12 million Ukrainians have been displaced, most of them within Ukraine. 4 million have been displaced outside of Ukraine. 204,000 have applied to come to Canada, 91,000 have been accepted, 24,000 have arrived.”
“So for every Ukrainian that has arrived, there’s ten that have applied to come to Canada. So we expect that a lot more Ukrainians are going to be coming than have already arrived. So the ten families that have arrived could easily become 100, or more,” added Scott.
He noted that they are making sure that the families that are currently arriving have services immediately available to them, adding that they’re making sure they can get medical coverage, housing, and jobs for those who are able to work.
“So we’re working with people who are engineers, and people that are technicians, and a couple of doctors, and all those kinds of things. We are working with them to try and help them understand what their employment options are and make some introductions.”
Scott said not everyone will be able to work, however.
“The very first people who contacted us when this whole thing started, she had a three year old, and was 30 weeks pregnant with her second. Her husband was unable to come, she is not going to be working.”
He noted that they are still looking for some volunteers within the community, saying that they needed homes for families of five to stay.
Scott said there were other volunteer opportunities as well, saying they’d welcome people willing to drive these families to the grocery store, or even to donate bicycles they weren’t using.
“The factor that we work with is, what is helpful to the people who are on a difficult journey. Everything else takes a backseat to that. We want to tell their stories, and when they’re ready to talk, they’ll talk. And until then, we will respect their desires.”
“This is going to be an extended situation. The Russians are not packing up and going home. The war is not going to be wound down by June. This is a long haul,” added Scott.
With that, Scott said that we may have some people just staying as guests, but there are also some people who will be looking for a new place to call home.
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