Family escapes Kyiv bombs, lands in Sydney
Liz Hobday |
Maryna Tyshchenko’s sister and mother have found sanctuary in Australia, having spent their last night at home sheltering in their basement from the bombing of Kyiv.
After being granted Australian visas last week, Raisa Ptashnyk, 58, and Iryna Ptashnyk, 30, packed a small suitcase with documents and a change of clothes as air raid sirens sounded early on Wednesday, then fled.
Following an arduous five-day journey the pair reunited with their family at Sydney airport on Sunday – and while there was relief, there were no tears.
“I was about to cry and I was surprised, we were just happy… this war, we got stronger I think – because we are stronger we didn’t cry,” Ms Tyshchenko told AAP.
She has lived in Australia with her husband and daughter since 2010 and has become an Australian citizen.
Her sister and mother are among more than 1.5 million people estimated to have fled Ukraine since the conflict began, with the department of home affairs granting more than 1000 visas since February 23.
Ms Tyshchenko’s father refuses to leave despite the danger and her sister’s boyfriend has to stay in Ukraine due to martial law.
But he drove Ms Ptashnyk and her mother to western Ukraine, where they walked across the Romanian border and caught a bus for refugees to Suceava.
From there they took a train to Bucharest, where volunteers on board provided them with food and blankets, and from the Romanian capital they boarded a Singapore Airlines flight for Sydney via Turkey and Singapore.
All the time, they were communicating with Ms Tyshchenko through WhatsApp, and she said while her sister finally feels safe, she has suffered trauma and may need psychological help.
Meanwhile another Ukrainian family, earlier barred from boarding a flight to Australia because their baby did not have a passport, is now set to arrive within days.
Iryna Zaiets fled Ukraine when the Russian invasion began with her mother Olena Kuzmych and nine-month-old baby Oksana.
The family secured visas and flights to Sydney, but when they went to board a flight in Poland last week, they were not allowed to board because Oksana did not have travel documents.
After a week of dealing with authorities in Poland, Ukraine, and Australia, Ms Zaiets’ sister in Sydney, Olha Lyeskakova, believes they will finally make it to Australia this weekend.
Olha Lyeskakova told AAP she has heard from half a dozen Ukrainian families with small children who are facing the same problem trying to get to Australia.
“I am the first one but there is a queue of people in the same circumstances and they are looking at me for how to manage all this,” she said.
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations told AAP it is working with welfare organisations to provide support as Ukrainian women and children arrive in Australia.
“Australia is 20,000 km away, they’ve come from a war zone… those children obviously have seen things. We have to deal with trauma, with families being disconnected,” Federation co-chair Stefan Romaniw said on Friday.
It’s expected most people will land in Sydney and Melbourne, along with Adelaide and Brisbane.
Ms Tyshchenko wanted to thank the Australian people and government for their assistance, and said she received help from her local MP Trent Zimmerman, while her family’s visa applications were processed within days.
A spokesperson for the department of home affairs told AAP it is prioritising visa applications for Ukrainians, and all Ukrainian nationals already in Australia whose visas expire by June 30 will receive an automatic six month extension.
AAP
