On a golden, early October day in 2023, Diana is in the studio apartment that she shares with her mother in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. The apartment is mid-way up the tall structure and has a balcony with a view of a steeple and its clock (“which is going to be taken down soon, unfortunately”). As she talks about situations that most people will never have to face in their lives, whether by fate or by fortune, Diana’s face still shows some signs of worry, but what shines through is an expression of relief, revealed by the resigned, faint smile of someone who knows themselves and has intensely reflected on her situation.
“When the war with Russia started, on February the 24th 2022, I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I left to go to Romania two weeks later.”
A trained stage director and a lover of theatre, Diana didn’t initially think of Canada as a land of exile as the full-scale invasion was unfolding. She first thought of England, where she had a friend. “I needed to move to a country where I could work in English. I’m here because of my dad—he suggested that I go to Canada. He thought it would be easier here because Canada has numerous Ukrainian communities. And I chose Victoria simply because I found hosts here. I arrived in Victoria with my mom in August of last year. My dad and my brother are still in Ukraine.”
Coastal celebration
On her arrival, Diana had mixed feelings: “My mom and I landed in Vancouver on a chilly August evening and then we took the last ferry to Victoria. We were exhausted and felt bitterly cold on the ferry during the whole trip. When we finally arrived in Victoria and were getting off the boat, the wind was blowing and it was starting to rain. To add to the drama, we couldn’t reach out to our hosts, because I thought that there would be wi-fi on the ferry (there wasn’t) and we hadn’t bought a Canadian phone card at the airport.”
Fortunately, their cold, blustery voyage gave way to a warm, calm welcome: “We took a bottle of wine from the suitcase and celebrated our arrival. Soon after, our hosts arrived and picked us up. By that time, we weren’t that cold and miserable anymore. They live in a house not very far from downtown, but hidden enough from the city noise. Our hosts were very sympathetic and supportive. And they provided all the help they could. We are blessed to have found them!”
The first thing that comes to her lips when Diana talks about her status in Canada is this declaration: “I am not a refugee. I am a visitor on a work visa.” Indeed, unlike most other refugee claimants or asylum seekers, Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada in 2022 were accommodated under a special measure introduced by the Government of Canada called the “Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel” or CUAET. This unique status was originally described by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as “[offering] Ukrainians and their family members free, extended temporary status [that] allows them to work, study and stay in Canada until it is safe for them to return home.” However, CUAET in fact only allowed for Ukrainians to apply for free visitor visas or open work permits to live and work [in Canada] for up to three years (but eligible to apply for visa extensions once in Canada). New immigration measures to support Ukrainians in Canada were launched by IRCC in October 2023.
It takes a village
Diana settled in Victoria in August 2022, partly with the assistance of Help Ukraine Vancouver Island Society (HUVI), a non-profit organization that supports displaced Ukrainian people on Vancouver Island.
Help Ukraine Vancouver Island Society (HUVI) was created in March 2022 by founder and general manager Karmen McNamara, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the early days of the exodus from Ukraine, Karmen began conversations with the Ukrainian Cultural Centre here in Victoria and the Comox Valley Ukrainian Cultural Society, as well as numerous Ukrainian Churches and the Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees (VICCIR). Part of those conversations was about mapping resources, and learning about best practices and how to mobilize a support community quickly—and, most importantly, in a region in a deepening housing crisis, the conversations centred on how to house these newcomers. “We started by working on setting up a hosting program, and we soon had 200 applications from host families,” says Karmen. “The United Way helped us develop a ‘safe hosting’ program that ensured [hosts] had criminal record checks,” among other considerations.
It was perfect timing. “People started to come to Canada before the government rolled out the CUAET program, although it was rolled out relatively quickly, and consequently, a lot of people started coming,” recalls Karmen. The group assists with housing, financial help through baskets of food, language courses, job searches, translators, and many other settlement needs. In the short 18 months since its formation, HUVI has assisted over 1350 displaced Ukrainians as of September of 2023. (IRCC reports that under CUAET, as of September 30th, 909,464 applications out of 1,189,372 have been approved, with 185,753 Ukrainians having already arrived in Canada under the program.)
Karmen credits this success to tireless and generous volunteers, community organizations, and Canadian hosts; she is especially grateful for the cross-country collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other small and large organizations supporting Ukrainians and other newcomers. Karmen says that what is key is that HUVI volunteers and staff are responsive and flexible, not tied to one way of doing things: “If something wasn’t working, we could stop doing it. And there was no ego attached to that; there was nobody fighting for it. It was: this isn’t working. Stop it—and not ten days from now once it gets a bureaucratic sign-off. No, no, stop it today.”
Karmen clearly loves her volunteer work and speaks with pride about special buildings and accommodations around Victoria that HUVI began to refer to as “Ukrainian Village #1” and “Ukrainian Village #2.” These spaces are testament to the organization’s creativity and adeptness at securing urgent housing for these newcomers in a difficult rental climate, but also to a community and culture of creating a home away from home together. Although Diana had different hosting arrangements, these temporary homes were critical launching pads for many other Ukrainian newcomers.
Connecting to the sea
After their summer arrival, Diana and her mother had to find temporary housing in another place before they managed to settle down in their current apartment. “We met a lovely Ukrainian lady from our hometown totally by accident, and she introduced us to a former retirement home, which had become a temporary shelter for Ukrainians. We stayed there for the next three months.”
It may have been her father who suggested she and her mother relocate to the country home to world’s second-largest Ukrainian community as the bombing started, but the salty ocean tides and Victoria’s windswept beaches help Diana feel right at home.
Odesa is also a coastal city, somewhat similar to Victoria: “They are located at the same longitude, which means both cities are alike in terms of temperature. However, I find Odesa more humid and Victoria windier. But when you look at the sea in Odesa, you just see the horizon, whereas here in Victoria you can see mountains and small islands far away. And the average temperature of the Black Sea in the summer in Odesa exceeds 20 degrees Celsius. In terms of vibe, both Victoria and Odesa are multinational and multicultural cities. Similarly to people in Victoria, locals in Odesa love to express themselves and constitute a cultural centre of Ukraine.”
Finding footing
Diana misses the connection with her family members, like her aunt, still in Kiev, and of course her father and brother, still in Odesa. However, her odyssey doesn’t prevent her from finding in Victoria what ignites her passion: theatre, stage directing, and performances; she feels grateful to have been hired on various short contracts on different plays performed by the Belfry Theatre company, including the play Yaga, still being performed as this article was written. This work is an immense source of satisfaction for Diana, who knows what is important to her and is hoping to become a permanent resident. She ponders for a moment, and adds: “I would love to write plays, direct or co-direct, become an actress, but for now, I am focusing on my application for permanent residency.”
Diana’s last name means thistle in Ukrainian. Thistles can tolerate high winds and cold temperatures, and are well suited to life in Victoria. Positive connotations are attached to this flower in Celtic nations as it is a symbol of resilience, strength, resolve, protection, and pride. And so, as Diana and her mother navigate their new life in Victoria, their odyssey continues.
The article was edited on May 15, 2024 to change the spelling of “Odessa” to “Odesa” in line with the official guidance on the correct spelling and usage of Ukrainian place names from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
