United in Aid: Ukrainians and Americans Speak Out About the War and Ways to Help Those in Need.
Bringing Ukrainian art and culture to life, a theatrical performance at ArtYard’s McDonnell Theater, depicted a fragment of the pain and struggles faced by displaced Ukrainians, Ukrainian refugees, and Ukrainian-Americans since 2014.
Olesia Zaharova, a performer in the Slovo Theater Group and an exiled Ukrainian, came to Rutgers University in October to perform Mothermotherland, written by Audrey Rose, with her comrades to draw attention to the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian culture.
While she is not speaking for her whole team, she said her strength to move forward during these times of war is found in the love for those she cares for and anger towards the enemies that want her dead.
“To kill me not only physically, but also to kill me as a subjective person, to kill my culture, my language, my country,” Zaharova said. “From this knowledge, emotions are born that push me forward: hatred for the aggressor, gratitude and respect for Ukrainians, stubbornness to survive, guilt for not doing enough.”
Zaharova and other performers of the Slovo Theater Group are among the seven and a half million Ukrainians recorded by the Center for Strategic and International Studies to have been displaced and exiled from their homes.
The number of Ukrainian people leaving the country and without proper shelter continues to grow as the invasion of Russia into Ukraine continues to escalate.
Recent events in the Russian war against Ukraine include Ukrainian officials fearing the approaching winter and a sever lack of the electricity, gas and water for those who still reside in the country. In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that a military strike hit Polish territory near the Ukraine border.
America and the Ukrainian People
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has led to an estimated 8 million Ukrainian people displaced and over 6 million citizens fleeing the country — mainly women and children shifting to European countries such as Poland, Germany and Czechia — which has caused Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War 2.
President Joe Biden announced in March that the United States would accept 100,000 Ukrainians. It only took five months to reach that number as immigration services worked to expedite Ukrainian visas and offer Ukrainian people different immigration processes. The number of Ukrainians accepted into the U.S. is still just a small fraction of the millions escaping to Europe, according to reporting from CBS News.
Nicholas Kovalenko, a junior at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, said he is relieved that his family could flee to Poland before the conflict became more severe, but is enraged and saddened by the events currently unfolding in Ukraine.
“My grandparents are from Libya and a lot of my family is from Libya, which is on the western side of Ukraine. But I’m sure many other people in Ukraine have been affected, especially ones that have lost loved ones,” he said.
Kovalenko said his family are trying to send money to their relatives abroad and eventually help them enter and stay in the United States.
His mother wishes to help their family members transition from Poland, but currently there is no exact plan on how to help his family as it is difficult to enter the country without a visa.
There are multiple ways for Ukrainians to enter the U.S., including with an immigrant visa, a refugee admission, with a U.S. sponsor through the Uniting for Ukraine program, or seeking asylum at the border.
In New Jersey, through private sponsorship programs, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that 7,293 residents had applied to financially sponsor Ukrainian refugees. There have been123,962 applicants across the U.S.
There has been little push back to welcome Ukrainian people into the United States and New Jersey, and the government has been more responsive in helping Ukrainian refuges than it has been during other times of conflict.
While Ukraine refugees are slowly entering the country, Afghan refugees have had more difficulty entering the U.S. since the Taliban overtook Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, CBS News reported.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has authorized 297 Afghan parole requests — which would allow anyone otherwise deemed ineligible to enter the United States temporary access for up to two years — while rejecting some 4,246, which amounts to more than 90 percent of refuges being denied as of June 2022.
An estimated 39,000 of the 73,000 Ukrainian arrivals were parolees as of June 2022 and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection quickly set up a parole policy for Ukrainians seeking asylum.
Syrian refugees seeking entry to the U.S. have also faced more adversity than people coming now from Ukraine. In 2015, former New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie wrote a letter to President Barack Obama announcing that the state would not accept any more Syrian refugees and would not assist in any more federal relocation plans.
Christie wrote that this decision followed the deadly 2015 terrorist attack in Paris and because New Jersey would have to rely on a “broken federal monitoring system,” to identify possible allies of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in the mix of Syrian refugees.
With so many refugees seeking asylum in the U.S., the government has been overwhelmed with the number of applicants. Although New Jersey is not recording how many Ukrainian refugees come to the state, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said in March that New Jersey “stands ready and able.”
Organizations Dedicated to Helping Ukraine
Residents and organizations in New Jersey are continuing efforts to respond to the conflict in Ukraine by supporting displaced Ukrainians and gathering supplies to distribute throughout the country.
Yuriy Boyechko, co-founder and president of Hope For Ukraine Inc., said that the group has recorded more than 300 New Jersey residents volunteering and contributing basic medical and toiletries supplies, clothing, and non-perishable foods to the organization.
The organization was founded in 2016 and had around 250 members prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Now, the group has at least 450 new staff members working across the United States.
Creating permanent housing for Ukrainian refugees is an important part of the group’s mission, Boyechko said. Volunteers can help the organization by assisting refugees in establishing a stable income and understanding the fundamental laws in the U.S.
“War is not over, and we need to work together to help civilians trapped in this vicious cycle of war,” Boyechko said.
Mariia Khorun and Yulia O’Connell are volunteers at an organization called Razom for Ukraine Response Initiative, which helps displaced Ukrainians with immigration questions, applying for a temporary protected status, and work permits.
Displacement is temporary for Ukrainians residing in the U.S., Khorun said. There are many Ukrainians seeking to enter the country, and there are always more people the organization seeks to help.
Razom for Ukraine and other organizations based in the metropolitan area, like Ukrainian Jersey City, have worked together to assist Ukrainians in need. Both groups use a shared Google form that displaced Ukrainians can fill out to request temporary protection status and if they need medical or work permits.
There are a limited number of housing opportunities Razom can offer, so people must also indicate whether they have children and how many to determine each group’s living situation.
O’Connell is working to move a family of eight Ukrainians to the U.S. and reaching out to other organizations to assist in sheltering them. While it is good many people are escaping from the dangers in Ukraine, even a large organization like Razom has a difficult time with large families due to the lack of resources, she said. “Even within a big organization like Razom, no one had the space for eight people, truly. It is very challenging. So, the bigger the family the more challenges.”
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Razom did not have a specific program for refugees. As of October, the organization has received around 200 requests for assistance through its Google form, Khorun said. Many of those requests came from families, which means the number of people who have requested help from Razom is somewhere between 500 and 600.
Federal and state governments continue to seek ways to respond to the needs of displaced Ukrainians including housing, general supplies, and asylum. New Jersey residents, students, and university faculty have played a crucial part in helping to provide relief.
What Rutgers Is Doing
Communities at Rutgers University have been actively involved in helping to support Ukrainian people, including students.
According to a Rutgers press release, students and staff who are Ukrainian or have ties to the country and its’ people, are raising money and supplies for citizens of Ukraine. University officials have offered counseling to those impacted.
Kovalenko, the Rutgers student, said that he has seen many flyers promoting “Stand with Ukraine” and conversations about the invasion between students and staff which helps bring attention to the ongoing war.
The support for Ukraine is continuing at Rutgers and students and staff who have connections to the community are donating supplies and their time to spread awareness.
Marie Kennedy, co-director for the New Jersey Folk Festival and an assistant teaching professor at Rutgers University, said that while she is not Ukrainian, it is a privilege to sing Ukrainian folk songs with her Ukrainian and Ukrainian American companions.
Kennedy is a member of the Ukrainian Village Voices, a performance group based in New York City. The group has performed at fundraisers and gatherings in support of Ukraine since Russia began its invasion.
Amid the despair that has characterized so much of the Ukrainian conflict, Kennedy’s group tries to honor Ukrainian culture. “Our group’s mission is to preserve the folk songs of the villages of Ukraine,” Kennedy said. “As Russia continues to try to destroy Ukrainian life, culture, and identity in the homeland, our group believes it is even more important for us to maintain the strength of this culture here.”
While performing, Kennedy also said she was able to see firsthand the camaraderie of Ukrainian Americans supporting Ukraine while overseas and the emotional connection between audience members and the songs of their Ukrainian homeland.
“For people who are in the midst of such crisis, we believe music is an incredibly important bond,” Kennedy said. “Even before the war, I was moved by the beauty of Ukrainian music and culture, and I hope that everyone who hears UVV perform will be inspired to support Ukrainians who are fighting to save their culture and their country.”
-Edited on January 18, 2023.
