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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused Europe’s largest refugee crises since the Second World War
The European Union has responded by granting EU-wide temporary protection to people arriving from Ukraine. This aims to provide immediate temporary protection to people fleeing the war in Ukraine (including its citizens, or people with resident permits in the country). Although it has been invoked several times before, the directive has never actually been activated.
The British government has responded with the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
This scheme is a private sponsorship scheme that allows people and organisations in the United Kingdom to offer Ukrainians fleeing the war a home. It lets individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to offer safety to Ukrainians, even if they have no previous ties to the UK. Sponsors agree to offer accommodation for at least six months, and those receiving sponsorship will be entitled to live, work and study in the UK up to the time of three years.
Before the scheme, only Ukrainians with family already settled in the UK could come.
The Government has said there will be no limit on how many people can use this - and that the UK will welcome as many Ukrainians, with immediate family members, who want to come, and for whom there are sponsors.
Two Ukrainian refugees who are waiting to enter the UK under this scheme, are Larysa (50) and her 10-year-old son, Hryhorii. The two left their home in Kyiv on the 17th of March and drove to the Polish border. There, they got on a volunteer bus to Cologne, Germany, where they currently still are.
(Larysa and Hryhorii)
They already have links to Lancashire, England, where they are hoping to be as soon as possible. Larysa’s daughter, Valeria Taylor, is 26 years old, lives in America (North Carolina), but spent four years of her schooling in Fleetwood, near Blackpool. This is where she met good friend, Mary Murray, 26, from Thornton - who, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, is eagerly waiting to take Larysa and Hryhorii into her family home.
Mary and Valeria took a trip together to Ukraine in 2011 – visiting places like Crimea. Mary was one of the first people to send a message to Valeria when the war broke out.
(Mary Murray and Valeria Taylor in Ukraine - 2011)
Valeria said, “I woke up with texts- saying that she was praying for my family. And I made a joke, and then obviously, I went on the internet, and I saw that Russia had invaded. When I called my mom, she was crying. It was very stressful.”
Valeria continued, “I think they're excited to go to England, because she will be staying with Mary and her family, who she knows. And she's visited Fleetwood before. I think she's happy about going back, even under different circumstances. I feel like it's going to bring her a little comfort.
“Once my mom was in Germany, she just cried, because it finally all caught up to her. I don't think she was really processing what was happening when it was happening. I don't think my little brother really understands. But they're always moving, they're not really staying in one spot. They just don't have a home.”
Mary also talked about Larysa, “She really didn't want to leave for a long time. She was like, ‘No, I'm staying here.’ Every night when they went into their apartment building basement - she was the oldest mum there. And they all sort of looked up to her, and she didn't get emotional and kept calm. So, she kept saying ‘I don't want to leave because I feel like everyone's sort of relying on me’.”
However, with the length of the process, Valeria talked about how frustrated she was getting, “it's been very stressful, because they don't provide you with any information, where to call, where to check. And it's just really hard to find people who you're supposed to contact. I hoped they would be in England before Easter, because I know Mary got them Easter eggs and stuff like that.”
Mary, also talked about how hard it is to chase things up, “I must be getting on my MPs (Ben Wallace) nerves because I email him every day, but they can't give a time scale. I was frustrated after the two-week mark if I'm honest, because, you know, they're literally fleeing a war.”
She has spent the time the applications have been taking, to prepare her home, “They’re living with my mum and my dad and me, the beds are all ready. My dad's actually already rung the doctors to try and get them enrolled.”
“Valeria and I went to school round here, so I messaged the headmaster. And then next thing I know, the boy’s going to our old school. I don't actually know him; Larysa was pregnant with him the last time I saw her.”
Lancashire is currently home to 337 Ukrainians, but is still waiting on another 594.
Mary also said how much hope the Homes for Ukraine scheme has given her, “It's really, really shown me this whole process, that there's so many nice people around, that are willing. Like I know we're doing it, but I know them. People are willing to do this for strangers. It just shows that there are a lot of good people in Lancashire.”
But, for, Larysa and Hryhorii, leaving Ukraine also comes with the worry of those they have left behind - like Valerias older brother.
(Valerias older brother)
Valeria said, “He's in Kyiv, they have a volunteer battalion. So, they're not necessarily fighting. They're not in front lines, they're going there and doing some volunteering, providing food, they're making sure that everyone's okay. But they do have, like the bulletproof vests and some weapons.
“It is a lot, but he's a brave, brave guy and I'm really proud of him. I think he found himself in these horrible circumstances. I think he finally feels where he belongs, he feels like he's making a change. So that was his choice. And as much as I would like him to be safe, I completely understand why he would do that. I support him.”
Canada have run a similar program to the Homes for Ukraine scheme for a few years – called The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.
It started in 2016, and the initiative is so refugees can be sponsored privately (by a group of people or an organisation) alongside their government-assisted refugees. A sponsorship group must support their privately sponsored refugee for one year upon their arrive or until the sponsored refugee can support themselves, whichever comes first.
Every year since the start of the program, the numbers of refugees entering under this scheme has increased.
Canada was the only country offering private refugee sponsorship until recently, with the launch of the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative. The program in Canada, however, has had some complaints since its beginning, like the complaints now about the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
City of Sanctuaries UK offers various different kinds of support to refugees and migrants entering the UK. The more well-known side of their work is the large network of community groups all over the UK - like Liverpool City of Sanctuary and Manchester City of Sanctuary.
These groups support people who are housed in hotels, direct aid provision to new arrivals, create friend making opportunities, and run English as a Second Language lessons. They also work with mainstream organisations like local councils, schools, arts institutions, to make them more welcoming and understanding of people seeking sanctuary.
Hannah Green, Communications Manager for City of Sanctuary UK, talked about how hard it is for refugees coming into the country.
She said, “From my understanding, it is almost impossible for somebody to get to the UK if, if they're not from Ukraine at this point. The evacuations that happened from Kabul last year, brought thousands of people, it's been incredibly slow getting anybody else through those schemes since then. If you're from a country that isn't Ukraine or Afghanistan, it would be pretty much near impossible for somebody to get to the UK.
“Even people from Ukraine are struggling to get to this country. Whilst the government may want to paint the Homes for Ukraine scheme as a really positive thing, which of course it is - they're also making it incredibly bureaucratic.”
Hannah Green explained, “For starters, by definition, refugees are people who are fleeing war, so they shouldn't have to have a visa to cross the border. The whole point of being able to apply for asylum means that you can cross the border by any means necessary if you're going to then apply for asylum. So, the fact that we're asking for visas makes it much, much harder for people to get here. The rest of Europe has waived any need for visas, but we're still we're still asking for them.”
Sanctuary say that they support the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, but they have stated a list of issues.
Hannah Green said, “The government is 100% relying on the third sector. When the scheme was announced, it was made with a kind of assumption that, charities and religious organisations will be doing the lion's share of both the matching and the kind of support work.
“Also, along with the waiting weeks and weeks, and the difficult process of applying for visas, sometimes even when a visa is approved, the permission to travel (which is a separate document) is not sent to the applicant. The hosts and Ukrainian applicants end up spending hours and hours chasing this progress, because you have to have this document to be able to travel. Sometimes people are getting their Members of Parliament involved - and with the MPs help, they then discover that that permission has been issued, but the permission never made it to the people.”
She continued, “So, it just feels like there's a lot of like systems failures - that means that what should be something that's relatively smooth, is really slow and jittery and just isn't working as it should. Even when they get to the UK, people have to travel huge distances to be able to have their biometrics done. And this is something they must have in order to have bank accounts and Universal Credit.”
Another issue she highlighted was with the Family Scheme, “which is people who have family members in the UK, from Ukraine, who then bring family members over - that's a separate scheme from the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme. So local authorities have no data about those from the family scheme and only become aware of them if they present as homeless or in need of other services. And the local authorities don't receive any funding for those in the family scheme. So local authorities who are already underfunded and overstretched now have that that additional support with no funding.”
The changes Sanctuary are recommending however, she said are quite complicated, “It's a bit late now, because the Nationality and Borders Bill has been passed - but I would say that the bill should never have been passed, it's not going to solve any problems.
“It's about the UK living up to its global responsibilities and leading with compassion and recognising that the amount of people that want to claim asylum in the UK is minuscule and it's also been going down. What we're facing is not a disaster - what we're facing is a politics without compassion. And I think if we if we lead with compassion, it would benefit some of the most vulnerable people in the world who are fleeing war and persecution.”
For more information for the homes for Ukraine Scheme: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-frequently-asked-questions
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