Celia
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An emotional Olha Lyeskakova wears the Ukrainian flag as mum Olena, sister Iryna and little Oksana arrive safely in Sydney.Photo: AAP
A Melbourne family of five is preparing their home for the arrival of strangers fleeing Ukraine.
Edina Pilcher, of Patterson Lakes, has two daughters aged six and four, and a six-month-old baby boy – and felt powerless seeing images of the conflict in Ukraine on the television news.
“We were not really in a position to host but I didn’t care… It doesn’t matter what happens, we’re going to make it work,’ she told AAP.
She put up an online ad, “Professional young family of five welcomes a Ukrainian family with young children,” and was surprised to hear from a family with a 15-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter.
The family had escaped the Donetsk region in the early days of the invasion and has since heard their neighbourhood was destroyed, according to Ms Pilcher.
They are arriving on Sunday to stay in Ms Pilcher’s home, having spent their life savings on flights to Melbourne.
Ms Pilcher, 38, understands more than most what her new guests have been through – having been born in a part of the former USSR, now Romania, she remembers fighting in the streets. She arrived in Australia in 1996 unable to speak English.
Her family is one of hundreds that have offered their homes on the website ukrainetakeshelter.com, which was launched on March 3 by Harvard students Avi Schiffmann and Marco Burstein in response to the conflict.
It could prove to be a lifeline for hundreds of Ukrainians set to arrive in Australia, amid fears support systems set up by local communities could be overwhelmed.
The Ukrainian peak body in Australia has so far received more than 250 requests for accommodation, with the majority expected to arrive within days.
Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s office told AAP more than 4000 visas have been issued to Ukrainians since the Russian incursion began on February 24, and of those visa holders more than 500 people have travelled to Australia.
‘Work behind the scenes’
Kateryna Argyrou, from the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, told AAP the Ukrainian community had been able to handle all of the accommodation requests so far, but warned the flow of people out of Ukraine has only just begun.
“We are dealing with tens of people at a time now, if it grows to hundreds or thousands then absolutely the community will be overwhelmed,” she said.
“There’s an immense amount of work that’s being done behind the scenes and that will not be sustainable for a long period of time.”
Ukrainian signage is being erected in the international arrivals terminals at Sydney and Melbourne airports with links to support groups.
While accommodation is the main need, according to Ms Argyrou, requests have also come in for food, clothes, mobile phones and help with childcare and schooling.
She said health care was also an issue, as tourist visa holders can’t access Medicare.
A Home Affairs Department spokesperson said immigration authorities had been focused on facilitating travel for people who needed to leave Ukraine urgently, and broad consideration was being given to visas for people once they have arrived in Australia.
The government said humanitarian support options will be considered in conjunction with international organisations, including the UNHCR.
I used to enjoy a giggle watching this tv programme.
How how the world has changed since then.
The actor starred in the BBC hit show from 1979 to 1981, playing Richard DeVere alongside Penelope Keith in the smash-hit sitcom, which had audiences of more than 20million for all of its twenty-one episodes. His big breakthrough came more than 20 years after his career began with RADA at the Old Vic, with the sitcom about an upper-class woman and her nouveau riche businessman husband making him a household name overnight. He reprised the role of Mr DeVere during an hour long 2007 special, in which the two charters celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. Famously, in 1974, he had turned down the role of Jerry in The Good Life, which made stars of Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal and Ms Keith, claiming that he didn’t want to be ‘tied down’ to a BBC series. Mr Bowles built a reputation for being a suave leading man, often with a trademark moustache and wooing ladies. He also played smooth villains in several TV series, including The Avengers and The Saint. But away from stage and screen his great love was his wife Sue, who he met in the theatre in the late 1950s when she was a chorus girl. He would marry the former circus strong woman in 1961, having three children together – two sons and a daughter. Handsome and always impeccably dressed, even in his later years, he put his good health down to weight-training every day into his 80s. Announcing his death in a statement, his agent said: ‘The actor Peter Bowles has sadly passed away at the age of 85 from cancer. He leaves his wife of over 60 years, Sue, and their three children Guy, Adam and Sasha.’
PS Hola here is someone else that will be 80 soon!
Sprightly Sir Paul McCartney, 79, dives into crashing waves as he hits the beach with his businesswoman wife Nancy Shevell, 62, in St Barts
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says sanctions on Russia will be reversed when Putin withdraws from Ukraine and vows to never again conduct such an invasion and warns China against involvement.
Wow the price of meat here in WA has gone mad; I had picked up a tray of chicken thighs to cook in the slow cooker and saw the price! Next to it were some whole chickens for the same price, so I swapped that for the chicken pieces; I can cut a whole chicken in half straight down the breast bone and make a roast for hubby and I and get two meals out of that instead of one meal with the chicken thighs.
Cost of living has gone up so much I am glad now at my age I don’t eat as much as we once did!
I guess because the chicken was trimmed with no skin on that costs manpower!
The eyes of the world are on Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena (pictured), who have humbled us with their resolve, patriotism and bravery. The pair have never been afraid to declare their love for one another in adoring social media posts. In one posted in January 2020, Olena describes a ‘real man’ who gave her ‘butterflies’ and made her complete; a lover whose presence she felt when they were apart, and whose shared dreams destroyed all fear. ‘Safe. Cosy. Never calm, but always interesting. That’s how you feel when a real man is next to you,’ she writes. ‘The one you can count on in everything.’ For her birthday in February last year, Volodymyr wrote of Olena: ‘I love the way you think. Thank you for being there . . . For the truth, for the eyes, for the jokes. For who I wouldn’t have become without you . . . Thank you for everything.’ Their body language is electrifying. Multiple photos on Olena’s Instagram profile show husband and wife side by side, beaming, holding hands, wearing superhero face paint with their children.
A tearful Inna Prystakio spoke of the heartbreak facing every ‘woman, mother and wife’ in her home country, which has been under attack from Vladimir Putin’s forces for almost two weeks now. (Pictured with Camilla on Tuesday)
Ms Prystaiko, who donned a yellow and blue ribbon broach, representing the Ukraine flag, was pictured visibly upset while talking to Camilla at the event (pictured)
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall embraces Inna Prystaiko, wife of Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Vadym Prystaiko, following a visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral on March 2, 2022
Interesting!
EU agrees to start examining membership bids by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in the wake of Russia’s invasion
The move by the 27 member states is the first step in the bloc’s notoriously complex process for deciding whether to allow new members to join, which can drag on for years
I was chatting to hubby last evening about the possibility of having a couple of refugees our age or a bit younger in our home as we have a couple of free bedrooms. I wonder if this will happen now there are so many people that have left their homes and country in the Ukraine?
There are so many people pouring out of the country and I cannot see it getting any better there for some years. Unless there was a miracle .
I am staying clear of war photos I want to see some people happy and smiling for a change!
Or photos that make me smile.
