Limburg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The massive Russian attack triggered the Ukrainian exodus starting from three years ago on Monday. Maryana Stelmakh, together with Irinia Kolupaieva and Yulia Orel, chose to leave the country. The group included Maryana and her children, and Yulia, while Irina brought her sons, cousin, and children.
The Russian war trigger made Maryana Stelmakh, Irina Kolupaieva, and Yulia Orel flee Ukraine, but they have established new lives in Limburg, Belgium, during the past three years. Since her migration from Ukraine, Maryana took up a position at Nippon Express in Genk, where she currently works as a logistics professional after serving as a Ukrainian-English translator.
The young refugee Irina serves as a cleaning lady to support herself while she waits for the approval of her pharmacy graduation certificate. Yulia Orel moved from leading a Kyiv-based travel agency to work as the manager of Kasteelhoeve de Kerckhem in Wijer. The three women dedicate themselves to studying Dutch to achieve integration and create better prospects for their children in their new environment.
“I started a Dutch course as soon as I arrived here,”
Says Maryana.
“I am very grateful to my first teacher, Thomas Donvil, from PXL University College. Thanks to him, I find Dutch a very beautiful and fun language. I have also continued to take Dutch lessons. Even now that I work, I still take Dutch lessons online because it can always be better.”
“If you don’t know Dutch, nothing will work,”
Says Yulia.
“You can’t fill out any documents, you can’t look for work, you can’t talk to your child’s teachers, …. Many Ukrainian mothers have quickly learned Dutch to give themselves, but especially their child, every opportunity. Because it was precisely to protect and help those children that they fled and left their home and family behind.”
“I immediately started working as a cleaner,”
Says Irina, who was 19 when she arrived in Limburg.
“You didn’t need to know the language for that. But I’ve been learning Dutch for 3 years now, and many people say that I speak the language very well now. But I still take lessons online in the evenings when I’m done with work.”
“My diploma has been recognised in the meantime,”
Says Maryana.
“I studied applied linguistics and was a translator-interpreter and private teacher in Ukraine. Now I do logistics and planning at Nippon Express in Genk.”
“That’s something completely different, but I think it’s fantastic. They taught me everything step by step because I knew nothing about logistics,”
Laughs Maryana.
“I could always ask for help. Belgians are very friendly. They have a lot of respect for others, but they are a bit more distant than we are.”
“Step by step, that’s what we had to teach Maryana,”
Says Wendy Stevens, assistant manager office at Nippon Express.
“She is very eager to learn and sometimes wants to go too fast. Her Dutch was already very good when she applied here 2 years ago. We understood her perfectly.”
“I can agree with that,”
Says Sandrine Hemelaar, HR officer at Nippon Express.
“Maryana is also very caring. She is always handing out cookies and sweets, and when we are busy, she asks if she can take over something from us and if we are getting enough sleep.”
“But by being her colleague, that war naturally comes much closer. The stories we hear from her about how people in Ukraine have to live affects you much more than what you see on TV.”
Irina with An Santermans and Ralf Notarpietro in Diepenbeek, where she is currently a cleaning lady.
“I have come across many friendly and warm people in Limburg,” says Irina. “They are very sweet and concerned and also interested in what is happening in Ukraine. I can really open my heart to them when I am struggling with something.”
“Last summer, I went back to Ukraine to get my diploma. And someone here in Limburg helped me with the procedure to have it homologated. I like my work, and I also like to visit all my clients. But I still hope that my diploma will be sorted out as soon as possible. Because it is a medical profession, it takes longer than normal.”
Irina is always positive and committed, even though she has worries and left Ukraine alone three years ago:
“I have always seen Irina as a positive and committed person, someone who wanted to learn the language and do her job very well,”
Says An Santermans in Diepenbeek.
“I heard that her mother had died, which I found very sad. And she was not even 20 when she arrived here, together with her cousin and 2 small children”.
“Irina is also very intelligent and knows what she wants. And she now speaks perfect Dutch. You just have to do it,”
Says An.
“It’s a shame that someone who trained as a pharmacist has to work here as a cleaner,”
Adds her partner, Ralf Notarpietro.
“But she doesn’t give up, she is really constantly working on her future. We talk to her a lot, also about Ukraine. It’s time that the people there can decide for themselves how things are done in their country,”
Concludes Ralf.
Yulia Orel was CEO of a travel agency in Kiev and now works at the Kerckhem castle farm in Wijer:
“My son stopped talking after the war broke out,”
Yulia says.
“I had a Ukrainian friend in Peer and she said I could come to Belgium and stay with her.
“I was already in Hasselt seven years ago for the Virga Jesse celebrations. Then, I was here as a tourist, now I live here as a refugee. When I went to see the Virga Jesse procession again last summer, I wondered what my life would look like in seven years.”
I think we have found a diamond in the rough whose full brilliance we have not yet discovered. Nanne Feldhaus, manager of the Kerckhem castle farm:
“Yulia suddenly appeared at the door and asked me for more information about the architectural style of the building,”
Says Nanne Feldhaus, manager of Kasteelhoeve de Kerckhem.
“But we also had a vacancy at that time. I spoke to her, and now she works here. And that turned out to be a bull’s eye.”
“She used to run a business in the tourism sector in Ukraine. She is our contact person for clients. She answers emails and phone calls and receives people. I think we have found a rough diamond whose full shine we have not yet seen.”
“Do I want to go back to Ukraine?”
Maryana asks.
“I wanted my child to be safe, and now I’m paying the price for that. I haven’t seen my father for 3 years and my mother for two years. And in the meantime my son goes to school in Belgium longer than in Ukraine.”
“At first, he missed his family and friends and cried a lot. Now he is much happier, he has friends and he goes to the youth movement. It would be difficult to go back, also for me,”
Maryana concludes.
“I have to be honest,”
Says Yulia.
“I want the best for my child and that’s why I want to stay. Belgium has supported me in difficult times. My son is now 5 years old. This country has given him the chance to develop, and as a mother I am very grateful for that. I want to work in and for Belgium, out of respect for everything the country has given us.”
“I am very proud of the Ukrainians who volunteer and fight on the front. But I don’t want to go back, and I can’t go back,”
Says Irina.
“I come from Donbas. All the places where I lived were shot to pieces and my city was occupied by the Russians. I am tired of living in fear because the war has been going on for ten years. Of course, I miss my family and my friends and the time I spent with them in Ukraine.”
How has Belgium supported Ukrainian refugees?
Ukrainian refugees have chosen Belgium as their preferred destination since the military tensions skyrocketed in Ukraine. A Ukrainian community developed in Belgium from 1920 through 1950 comprised primarily of miners together with political refugees and clergy students, but the current migration rate has reached substantial heights.
Belgium’s reception of temporary protection holders in 2022 reached 60,000 Ukrainians as the total asylum applicant figures from all foreign nations remained below this figure. Belgian citizens started offering their residences as households opened their doors during this time while the administration created a special processing facility for Ukrainian migrants.
