Third Christmas away from home for Ukrainian refugees

Mum of two Olesia Manolova is spending her third Christmas in Omagh, away from her home in Ukraine which she was forced to flee after Russia invaded in early 2022.

The self-employed marketing manager said Christmas time made the situation harder for her family.

Ms Manolova said she worried she would not return to Ukraine for years.

"When I came here I thought it would take one or two months and then I would return but now I understand it will take longer," she said.

"I think about home more, I recently found photos on my phone of Santa's residence in Kyiv, where we are from.

"It was a great day with Santa and the kids and I don't know when we can enjoy a Christmas like that again with the kids in Ukraine," Ms Manolova, the mum of an eight-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son, added.

The Executive Office said that by June 2022, a few months after the full-scale Russian invasion was launched, there were 825 Ukrainians in Northern Ireland under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and Ukraine Family Scheme.

By November 2024, there were 3,397.

This included those benefiting from the Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES) which enabled Ukrainians to extend their stay.

Like many Ukrainian parents Ms Manolova said she was worried about how her children would adapt to life back in Ukraine if they spent longer in Northern Ireland.

"The main concerns of all Ukrainian parents for their kids is that as they get older they may have to join the Ukrainian army, especially the boys," she said.

"If we return to Ukraine, I am not sure that my kids can adapt to the educational system.

"My daughter only started school here and she doesn't know the Ukrainian programme.

"My son started English at school in Ukraine for him it wasn't so easy but it was easier than for my daughter.

"When she came here she was six and all she could say was thank you and hello and goodbye. "

Mary Lafferty, who founded the Empowering Refugees and Newcomers Organisation (ERANO) in the Fermanagh and Omagh area three years ago, said anyone coming from a place of trauma can find it hard to settle in.

It was set up initially to help Syrian Refugees and then expanded to help all new communities in the area.

"The Ukrainians coming here use this centre as a meeting point, not just for practical purposes of form filling etc, but to meet socially as well," she said.

"They run their own women's group here, so they do meet a lot to socialise .

"They are confident ladies, some had their own businesses but they have lost everything, their homes, families and businesses.

"They may look confident but it's a fragile exterior – a lot of them are still traumatised."

She said the women were watching the news constantly, worrying about their families and those they have left behind.

"They see what's happening in Ukraine now and it takes very little for them to break down and start to get emotional about it," she said.

"There is also the worry that that they don't have any security here from the UK government, as to whether they can stay here or if they can every become residents, so everything is very precarious for them."

In a statement the Home Office said it had always been clear that the Ukraine schemes provided temporary sanctuary in the UK only while the war in Ukraine remains ongoing, and that they are not a route to settlement in the UK

It added that the government has announced a new scheme that will allow Ukrainians with permission under one of the existing Ukraine schemes to apply for an additional 18 months to remain in the UK on expiry of their current visas.

This new scheme will open for applications in February.

Fuzova Yuliia is also based in Omagh and has three children, she hopes one day she will be able to return to Ukraine.

"My parents are at home in Ukraine and it's very sad that I can't be at home, it's a beautiful country with beautiful people," she said.

"I don't know what will be in the future, at the moment we live in the present time, we are trying to adapt here, learning English but I I think we can return.

"I am an optimist in every situation and I hope for best.

"On a daily basis drones attack my town, my people.

"My body is here but my soul is in Ukraine with my people, my relatives, my friends."