1 year later, family who escaped Ukraine looking to plant roots in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS -- It's been more than a year since the war in Ukraine started, and in that time, the Department of Human Services says more than 984 Ukrainians have accessed federally funded services in Minnesota
WCCO-TV met one of those families about a year ago, just after they arrived. They're hoping to build a future and lay down some roots, if the government allows them.
Alina Kokhan, Natella Djelali, and Valentina Bardash ended up in Minnesota after their homes were destroyed in Mariupol, Ukraine. Most of their family is now in Minnesota, settling into their new lives especially with their new dog, Mailo.
Mailo was a present for Kokhan's daughter, who is now thriving at school. She's even met another girl from Mariupol in her class. Djelali was a dentist back in Ukraine, and is taking classes at an ESL school learning medical terminology to hopefully work in that field again.
Bardash loved her summer garden.
"When it was the summer I was always gardening and doing a little bit of farming. I would grow vegetables, tomatoes, flowers, cucumbers," she said.
The family says they feel satisfied and fulfilled.
But because of the timing of their arrival in the United States, they didn't qualify for certain programs. They're classified as "parolees," and DHS says their status was just extended one more year, which will allow them and others in their situation to stay until next April.
"This conflict is not going to stop in the near future," said Attorney Nadia Roife. "Even if it does as we've heard from this family in Mariupol – its been leveled down to a field."
Roife gets calls from families like this on a daily basis, looking for guidance to eventually solidify a more permanent status here in the U.S.
"These individuals as we heard they want to work, they want to belong, they want to improve their English, their skillset they really feel safe and happy here and really want to contribute," Roife said. "What do we tell them as immigration practitioners, as a country?"
For now, this family will enjoy the simple joys of being together; being safe and building towards something new.
"We have now many friends here, it's so valuable. Many people are helping us," said Djelali. "We really want to thank every single person that aided us in this journey. Thank you everybody for your support and your friendship."
There are several different programs for Ukrainians in Minnesota that all have a different status attached. Those programs have different deadlines and levels of certainty.
The bottom line for so many like this family is that their homes are destroyed. There's nothing to go back to - so they're wanting to know if they'll be able to permanently set up shop and start living life without limits here in Minnesota.