Denver, Colorado – As sentiments rose last February about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Olena Galushko felt she wanted to leave her country.
On February 23, just one day before the start of the war, Galushko packed three suitcases, gathered his family, and left his home in Bucha, Ukraine. Galushko traveled with her three children – aged five, 10 and 14 – with her mother and husband to Poland.
That unexpected trip was the beginning of an exhausting physical and emotional journey for Galushko and his family, as they began a new life as refugees. Today, they are starting anew in the US state of California.
“We understood it was going to be a difficult journey, but we still took the risk,” he told Al Jazeera.
In April, two months into the war, US President Joe Biden launched an initiative called Uniting for Ukraine, a concession to allow 100,000 Ukrainian citizens displaced by the Russian invasion to apply for entry into the US.
About 85,000 people have come so far through the program, which requires them to have sponsors and allows them to stay for two years.
But some Ukrainians, like the Galushko family, started their journey before that help was available. Galushko recalled the long and tiring journey that took them from Poland, to Spain, to Mexico City, and then to Tijuana, a city just south of the United States border. From there, he was aiming to reach the capital of California in Sacramento, where he has friends.
“After many stops, we ended up in Tijuana,” he said. “Escape was very difficult, and it was very difficult.”
‘Leaving it all behind’
Immediately after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine, US government officials and humanitarian organizations prepared to welcome refugees. New York State has received the most federal funding to support nearly 14,000 Ukrainian refugees, while Virginia is said to have welcomed more than 2,700 Ukrainians in the past month.
In Colorado, officials established a Ukrainian Refugee Task Force, and by the end of October, about 600 refugees had registered to work, said Meg Sagaria-Barritt, coordinator of the Colorado Refugee Services Program. They expect hundreds more in the coming days and months, he told Al Jazeera.
In California, the number of Ukrainian refugees has been staggering. Galina Prozorova, a former Sacramento-based program manager with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said more than 20,000 Ukrainians have crossed into the state from Mexico since the war began.
“There was a big increase in March and April. People were running and leaving everything,” Prozorova told Al Jazeera. “Families were separated.”
Most of the Ukrainians who arrived in Mexico at that time were “survivors”, he added.
“There was also a lot of emotional pain in everything that they’ve been seeing [in the war]”said Prozorova.
This stress was exacerbated for some by the experiences they had in Mexico, including identity theft, rape, and human trafficking.
“Sellers have appeared on the Mexican side of the US border, offering a variety of services and presenting themselves as recovery agencies,” he said. “Sometimes, sometimes [Ukrainian] the youth disappeared.”
When refugees arrive in the US, Prozorova said that the IRC does what it can to help with education, job placement and housing, but the process still faces major challenges: “We are too few, not only for jobs, but also for housing.”
Community parole
Galushko and his family had a better chance than other families who tried to cross the US-Mexico border. They said their case was accelerated after the Mexican authorities learned that their son was recovering from leukemia and his mother had diabetes.
“Volunteers took us directly from the airport to [US] the border, and when we crossed the border, we were welcomed by the volunteers of the US church,” said Galushko.
After spending the night at a local church, the family boarded a car provided by volunteers, and began the long journey from San Diego to Sacramento. Since the beginning of April, they have been living in Sacramento under the federal humanitarian parole system, which facilitates temporary admission into the country and provides other benefits, such as food assistance and health insurance.
Legally unable to work, Galushko says his family has been supported by the state government and aid groups, while their children attend local schools. The family is also trying to learn English. Meanwhile, Galushko takes a closer look at the news and acknowledges “the entire history of opinion” regarding the civil war.
“On the other hand, I’m angry about what’s happening, what’s happening and why it’s happening to my people,” he said. “Also, true, painful, when I see all the families that need help and all the destruction that is happening. Compassion, because especially in the winter, people have no electricity, no hot water, so they are struggling a lot.
“But I also enjoy them. They are recovering very well; they are trying to rebuild the houses that were destroyed,” said Galushko. “I’m glad that people are not losing hope, that they are still staying there and trying to fix everything that was destroyed.”
There was also a surprise on the trip from Ukraine, when Galushko found out that she was pregnant. His daughter was born a few days ago.
“We hope there will be a program … that will allow us to stay here forever,” he said.
“[Bucha] He is destroyed, so we have nowhere to return. The war is still going on. We have four children here and our life is stable.”
