Winnipeg musician’s family escapes Ukraine, but real challenges just beginning

A Winnipeg musician has managed to help eight family members to safety across the border from Ukraine into Poland, but she says now the real challenge begins.

A Winnipeg musician has managed to help eight family members — from small children to seniors — across the border from Ukraine into Poland, but she says now the real challenge begins.

Tetyana Haraschuk, an accomplished jazz drummer and composer, left Winnipeg last fall to pursue a master’s degree in Valencia, Spain. It was there she heard her birth country of Ukraine had been invaded a month ago, and with the help of a network of friends, she travelled to Poland, where her family is safe — for now — in temporary lodgings.

Haraschuk said the refugees’ journey to relative safety — which, for many of her family members, meant an eight-hour walk in winter weather to reach the border — is only partially complete, as they don’t know what the future holds beyond a short time in a Polish house, with access to some canned food from a nearby centre.

“They came here with nothing,” she said. “This house is a blessing. They have this house for a little bit, but then that’s it. Once the house runs out… what do they do? There’s nothing for them.

“And the problem is, language is a huge barrier, even in Poland. For them, even… to be able to apply for a job, they need to know the language. And that’s a huge barrier.”

Haraschuk, who has been providing regular updates on her family and on the situation in Ukraine more generally via an online blog, is also spearheading a GoFundMe fundraiser to keep her loved ones afloat while they try to determine their next steps — whether that means starting a new life in Poland, attempting to come to Canada, or something else.

“While they’re trying to rebuild their lives, maybe making decisions of where they want to go… they still need to survive,” she said.