Through the eyes of newcomers to small-town Manitoba, Canada offers peace, safety

Karina Havina is working hard to learn English — the first step on the path to her dream of starting a manicure business and becoming a Canadian citizen.

"My name is Karina and I am happy to be here," she writes, then reads, in English.

Havina, 22, is one of the dozens of Ukrainians who have fled war and are now in Altona, a small community in southern Manitoba.

She's among the newcomers who say they want to remind local residents how lucky they are to live in Canada, despite its history of abuses involving Indigenous people and other ethnic groups.

She left Ukraine three weeks after the war began in February, reluctantly leaving her 19-year-old brother and mother behind.

Havina spent several months in Poland before her authorization for emergency travel was approved. She arrived in Canada on May 10, and is now living with her aunt, Nelli Voloshanavskiy.

"She was really scared the day when [the war started] … especially when the airplane starts to go around the city," said Voloshanavskiy, who translated questions and answers for Havina in a recent interview.

"They feel like maybe they all just bomb them and everyone will die. So she thought it will be better … to move to safety."

Havina is slowly adjusting to the peace and quiet of the agricultural community, her aunt said, "but she still worry, of course, about her mom and her family.… [She] said, 'I don't know if I will see her again, if I will see him again.'"

Voloshanavskiy is also a relative newcomer. She started a new life in Altona five years ago, and is now helping others do the same.

She said she's grateful for the opportunity and welcome she has received.

"When I saw some families like that, they have more problem than I have, so I feel like I really want to help them. I really want to give them a chance to start their life in a better way," she said.

That's why she's volunteering with another Altona resident, Callum Morrison, who is helping resettle refugees.

One of his duties is organizing the donation depot in the Altona Mall, where local residents have been dropping off furniture, mattresses, dishes and bedding — some of the things going into homes being outfitted for the newcomers.