Luda Babin, her husband Vasili, and their children, Daniel and Valeria, are looking for a place to live.
The Ukrainian family fled from their homeland a little more than a year ago, leaving in their car early one morning at the urging of their parents to get the kids to safety. They ended up in one of those long lines of traffic seen on the news early in the attacks from Russia, as they headed to the border.
It was early enough in the war that Vasili was able to go with his family — at that time men were not yet prohibited from leaving.
They brought with them just four small suitcases, not telling their kids where they were going — not that they could have imagined where they would end up.
“When we left we didn’t know where we were going. Nobody knew. We were hoping it would be over in a month or two and we would go home. We got to Romania, and we thought we would get settled there and wait a little bit. But then it didn’t stop, and we realized we weren’t going home.”
Those were Luda’s words in May 2022. Today, she couldn’t be happier about having settled in the village of St. Davids, with the help of friends, and the life they have made here.
Vasili, a car mechanic by trade, works at Covelli’s on Four Mile Creek Road, and looks for other jobs he can do after work.
Luda has a good job in Niagara Falls, and another at the event centre at Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery. Their two children, 10 and eight, are happy at St. Michael Catholic School, where there are several other children from Ukraine.
Canada has been good to them, Luda says.
The house on York Road that was offered to them rent-free, through a friend of a friend, was never meant to be long-term. Luda says she’s just grateful they were able to stay as long as they could. “This was a gift, being in this house for so long. We weren’t expecting to still be here.”
It’s an older home on a large piece of property slated for development, and it’s now time for it to come down.
When the family arrived, Luda felt from the beginning that they were on the right path, that they would work hard and make their life here. It feels safe, stable, and a good place to raise their children and ensure they have a future, she says. She and Vasili “want to be helpful here.”
They have one car, and someone who looks after their children before and after school. And they love the area.
“We are thankful for all the good people who helped us to stay here. We hope to stay close by.”
But now, there is doubt about whether that will be possible, whether this is their future after all.
They are able to pay rent, she says, but they need to look after their family as well. The most they could manage would be about $2,000 a month, “and I’m afraid we’re not going to find anything like that here. Prices are so high, especially for newcomers. And if we have to drive far for work, the gas prices are high.”
She says they can’t live here if they don’t have money to survive, and returning to Ukraine might be the only option, but isn’t their first choice.
“We just hope there will be some place for us to live.”
Her daughter, she says, cries when she thinks about having to go to another school. Both kids have become very involved in the community, playing tennis in St. Davids, and making good friends, including those who also have a Ukrainian background.
“We know of two families who have gone back to Ukraine. One family has three children, one has five. And by the time they pay their rent they can’t afford to live here. We’re trying our best to stay, working hard. We hope we are able to live here. The war isn’t about to end,” says Luda.
She makes the point that they are not considered refugees. They get no government assistance, and they don’t want that — they want to work and support their family in Canada.
“We just hope Canada wants us to stay.”