Ukraine family in Alton 'supported with kindness'

A woman who came to the UK with her two daughters to escape the conflict in Ukraine has spoken of the kindness they have received since arriving.

Pharmacist Biola Ameri, 42, Gabriella, eight, and Daniella, six, fled Kyiv and currently reside in Alton, Hampshire.

Her husband, Igor, is currently in Vinnytsia, helping women and children in Ukraine reach the border with Moldova.

Ms Ameri said: "I didn't want to leave Ukraine. I love Ukraine."

She came to the UK not via the Homes for Ukraine scheme, but on a tourist visa that she had previously applied for to visit Scotland, but hopes to get permission to stay when it runs out.

They are being hosted by the family of Lisa Hillan, and the children are said to have received a warm welcome at a local school.

Ms Ameri said: "I was really overwhelmed with my emotions when I first came to England, and when I first met people who don't know us, but who can support us with all this kindness for our family."

She said she cried at border control, and that someone there "was very worried about us" and "brought an apple and juice for the children".

"I saw that everybody wants to help us and I really feel not as a guest but as a part of a family."

Ms Hallan, who is a member of Alton Town Council's resilience fund panel, said what the family had endured was "heartrending".

"It's difficult to fathom that this is not a historical documentary, that this is happening to people like us in another county. It's mindboggling and horrific," she said.

"There is a desperate need to do something practical to help in some small way. My husband and I feel like we can't just sit here and do nothing."

Ukraine-Alton Mutual Aid was set up in Alton to enable residents to offer rooms, transport, clothes, and English lessons.

But Ms Ameri said: "My daughter... made a wish for the tooth-fairy. She said, 'I don't want any presents or money - I just want the tooth-fairy to bring our daddy here.'"