ST. PAUL – Kharkiv was once a large city brimming with activities and buildings standing tall. However, what was once a flourishing city, has now been defiled by the tumultuous rages of war. Its structures and even architecture, which are centuries old, have now been ridden with bullets or pummelled with bombs.
Meanwhile, the sky is clear and peaceful in St. Paul, as the cool wind blows. A small platform deck shades sunshine, surrounded by lush greenery adjacent to Liuba Sidorenko’s humble home.
The house also faces a narrow street, and across it are homes with people coming in and out, where Liuba greets one neighbour with a wave and a smile - a contrast from where she originally came from, in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Liuba says she’s been returning to Kharkiv every summer in previous years, but has been unable to return since the war began Feb. 24, earlier this year.
Liuba says the community of St. Paul has been very generous and supportive of the Ukrainians affected by the war. She thanks the community for their “beautiful hand-painted card with greetings” and for welcoming Ukrainians “in the Ukrainian language.”
“Thank you to all volunteers and everyone who put so much time and effort into gathering, distributing, selecting, and donating goods,” says Liuba. She also thanks organizations like the Lakeland Family Resource Network for providing information guides about settling in Canada and giving information on the services available in the country – essential to many new Ukrainian families.
She then recalls when she received homegrown tomatoes, reminding her of the “taste and smell from Ukraine.” The moment, she says, touched her heart – making her want to cry. The taste and smell were so vivid that she felt she had returned to Ukraine. “This was just a pleasant surprise,” she says, not expecting such support.
While she finds succour and safety within the great white north, Liuba says that sometimes, she can’t help but feel guilty as she worries about the safety of her many relatives in Ukraine.
Liuba recalls when one day, she called her sister. She waited - anxious and afraid. Then, finally, the line connected.
But she wasn’t greeted with a cheery voice over the phone, and what followed wasn’t a pleasant chat of smiles and laughter. Her sister said, “Liuba, I cannot talk to you because I have to grab my documents and run to the shelter.”
It was a conversation not unique to her sister, who now works at a cafeteria elsewhere in Europe. She adds that her other relatives, women and children, have also found safety outside Ukraine.
Many of the men remained to fight for their country, like her brother, who joined a civilian militia unit to support the formal army.
“Right now, I’m feeling like I’m guilty because I’m here and safe,” she says, with a pause. “But with the rest of my family – it’s not this kind of story.”
“They want a clear and peaceful sky,” says Liuba of her relatives and the many people in Ukraine. She says her relatives do not want expensive cars, the latest cell phone models, big houses, or money.
Instead, they wish for “nights without sirens and a quiet, peaceful life without shelling.”
Liuba hopes to go back to Kharkiv someday.
While the war in Ukraine isn’t as prominent in many Canadians’ minds as it was six months ago, the conflict overseas continues.
Area resident Amil Shapka says the St. Paul Ukrainian community, including churches in the area and people of varying backgrounds, continue to work together to support Ukrainian refugees of war.
