Home is a word that evokes a sense of security and comfort, but for Ukrainians in British Columbia watching the destruction of their homeland, it causes acute pain.
“This is being implemented in so many different ways through different war crimes that are happening, through missile attacks, drone attacks,” Ukrainian Marko Zolotarov, who now lives in Colombia, told Global News -British.
Since 2022, more than a million Ukrainians have fled their country and come to Canada, and more than 200,000 have settled in British Columbia.
However, they are now facing more turmoil when they learned the funding was coming to an end.
“There is confusion and fear of what will happen to us,” Zolotarov said.
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A federal grant that provides essential programs and benefits to refugees will end on March 31.
This means that programs that help Ukrainians learn English or train them for jobs will now be in limbo.
“They have hundreds, if not thousands, of displaced Ukrainians currently receiving services, but they know they won’t be able to do so in just a few months,” says Sarosh Rizvi, executive director of AMSSA, Affiliation of Multicultural Companies and Services. British Columbia Agencies
“There is currently no major plan to offload these services.”
Zolotarov said many Ukrainians do not yet have enough points to apply for permanent resident status.
“I think it’s a very significant gap,” he said.
Currently, there are more questions than answers about how to fill this gap.
“A lot of people are currently receiving services, a lot of people are currently receiving services and a countdown.” » said Rizvi.
Ukrainians, watching the heartbreaking destruction of their former home, wonder if they will ever be able to make Canada their new home.
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