Victoria Roberts meets two people who have come to Tunbridge Wells since the invasion
SASHA arrived in Tunbridge Wells from Kharkiv on March 25, with her four-year-old son Stepan, taking refuge with her sister who lives here.
Her husband is trying to hold things together at home, continuing with a renovation and working on their kitchen, while her parents also remain in the city.
“They could leave – Papa is 60 – but he works in a factory, repairing tanks, and has been there for about 28 years.
For now, Sasha said she does not want to go back. “I am afraid to go. I dream about it.”
Describing the outbreak of war, when Kharkiv was surrounded, she said: “For the first month of the war, I didn’t do anything. I just sat with my son [in the shelter] and played, pretended we were having fun.
“Kharkiv was surrounded on all sides. The sound was indescribable. It was just sound, sound, sound.”
Since coming here, she has worked hard to overcome the effects on her son of that month.
“I talked to him a lot,” she said, adding: “At first, he was afraid when an ambulance went by.
“But we even went to the fireworks in Rusthall in November. I wanted to show that ‘boom, boom, boom’ was beautiful, not terrifying.”
Tunbridge Wells came as a surprise to Sasha, who used to work in a tourist agency and travelled widely, but never to the UK.
“My sister told me she loved the city, but I was never interested, if I’m honest. I never planned to come here,” she said.
“The city is very pretty. I have been to other cities in England – London, Maidstone, Eastbourne, Brighton, Hastings… but Tunbridge Wells is the cleanest.”
“Now, if I were choosing [where to come], I would choose Tunbridge Wells.”
Stepan turned five in August, and was taken to the Hop Farm as a treat by Ukraine Relief Group organiser Rich Akehurst.
With her little boy now in school, Sasha said she was surprised by the knowledge he comes home with. “He tells me about the Great Fire of London and Baby Jesus at Christmastime!”
As for herself, she has found work in a café, and is seeking more work, while studying English online.
TANYA came to the UK in May from Odesa, with her 12 and 14-year-old daughters.
With no relatives in the UK, she and her family got visas through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, also known as Homes for Ukraine (HFU). Tunbridge Wells is hosting the second-highest number of Ukrainian arrivals under this scheme in Kent, with 438 HfU visa holders.
“We live in a host family with a lovely lady. She has come to love me and the children,” Tanya told the Times.
“I am very happy to be here. I feel at peace to walk around and to breathe. People walk around and smile in the street.”
Although her eldest daughter had studied English at school, Tanya said she had ‘never dreamed’ of coming to the UK. “It seemed so expensive,” she said.
Tanya has found a job in a kitchen, despite having trained in building construction in Ukraine.
“Not everyone wants to take on someone from a foreign country, but I am very happy that they took me,” she said.
Describing life in Odesa before she left, Tanya said: “Every day, we went down to the cellar [to shelter], and we got used to it. But it became obvious that the children were terrified.”
Her family stayed behind. “Mama and Papa didn’t want to go anywhere, and my husband is in the war. He tries to call me every day, and if he manages to send me a message, I am at peace.”
When Tanya visited Odesa last November, it was very difficult for her. The port city had a reputation as a cultured and easy-going place, but it has changed a lot.
“Children used to go to school and kindergarten, but now they sit at home and it’s cold. Food is as expensive as in the UK, I think. How people live, I don’t know.”
Tanya’s older daughter is continuing with studies online, as the Ukrainian government continues teaching the diaspora.
“We don’t know how long we will be here, so this [continuing her daughter’s studies] is not to lose a year, or more,” said Tanya.
She fears the effects of the long war. “I feel that English people are tired of Ukraine and it’s not nice to feel that way. But some of our cities have been destroyed, and there is just nowhere for people to go back to.”
Referring to the complete destruction of some Ukrainian cities, she said: “I am a construction engineer, so will help the best I can [when she returns]. That is my profession.”
“People have changed a lot, changed in spirit.
“They have lived so long in fear that they are blocked, closed up. Odesa now is joy with a dark overtone.
“Children used to go to school and kindergarten, but now they sit at home and it’s cold. Food is as expensive as in the UK, I think. Food has gone up so much and how people live, I don’t know.”
Despite being in the UK and at a British school, Tanya’s older daughter is continuing her English studies online, as the Ukrainian government continues teaching the diaspora.
“We don’t know how long we will be here, so this is not to lose a year, or more,” said Tanya.
Meanwhile, she feels as though she is living ‘part here, part over there’.
She fears the effects of the long war. “I feel that English people are tired of Ukraine and it’s not nice to feel that way. But some of our cities have been destroyed, and there is just nowhere for people to go back to.”
Tanya’s own purpose is fixed. “I want to be useful. I arrived in May and I have been helping here (at the TN2 Centre) from the first day.”
Referring to the complete destruction of some Ukrainian cities, she said: “I am a construction engineer, so will help the best I can. That is my profession.”
