Prague tries to help Ukrainians as much as possible/Instagram Petr Zewlakk Vrabec
With the outbreak of a full-scale war, many Ukrainians left their homes and went abroad. Traveling to another country is a big stress, because you have to look for housing, work and ways in order to return to normal life again when rockets do not fly over you.
Channel 24 website talked to Lesya, who left for Prague from Kyiv. The girl told us how she was looking for a job, housing, learning the language and trying to adapt to her new role as an emigrant. Then – direct language.
My husband got off at the train station in Lviv, said that he wanted to join the TRO
In Kyiv, on the first day of the war, when we looked at the shelter on Obolon, where we lived, my husband crossed to the other side of the road, and at the same moment a Russian bomber flew very low over us, my husband shouted: “Run!”. I was shocked and numb when the plane didn't drop the bomb, but it was a lottery. Now I have an unhealthy and inadequate reaction to airplanes. An instinctive fear of airplanes appeared, although she used to fly and travel a lot. Then we ran to the subway and spent the night there. The feeling of this horror and emptiness is unrealistic to describe.
On the evening of February 25, my husband and I took a train from Kyiv to Lviv, we didn’t have tickets, we just stood in the subway and didn’t know what to do, where to go, where to run. Then one of my husband's acquaintances wrote to him that he had tickets, but would not be able to leave, so he offered to simply give them to us. We took these tickets as an incredible gift, we arrived at the station. There was a darkness of people: on the platforms, on the platform. People were aggressive because everyone wanted to get on these trains, and there were not enough seats – it was something terrible.
First night in the vault in the basement and in the subway/Photo courtesy of Channel 24:
We approached the car and showed the conductor these tickets, but they were in someone else's name. The conductor said that they would put everyone to the maximum, even those who had no tickets at all. In a compartment designed for two people, there were six of us, people were lying on the floor, there were children, animals, dogs and cats in carriers and cages – the car was simply packed. Everyone was scared and wanted to leave.
My husband got off at the train station in Lvov – he said that he wanted to join the territorial defense. He himself is not a military man and never held a weapon in his hands. It was difficult for me to agree with this, but it was his decision, so I accepted it. I left in Budapest, where my husband's second cousin picked me up and took me to Prague.
Why Prague? Since the husband's brother and his family have been living there for 5 years, they know the Czech language well, have a job, etc. That is, I went there because I understood that at first they would be able to help me and suggest something about work, because it’s scary to go nowhere.
In general, I traveled on this train from Kyiv to Budapest for about 10 hours. In some border town, we were dropped off and told to transfer to another train that goes to Budapest. I was with only a backpack, moved there, the conductor of this Hungarian train already said that we had to pay for the tickets and they were not interested in whether we were running away from the war or not.
This is a little about the solidarity of Hungary. A Hungarian man was sitting in the carriage, he looked at us – it was clear that something was wrong with us: frightened eyes, dirty clothes, panic. This man came up and gave us all his food, there were some chocolates, curds, juices. He said that he sympathized with Ukraine, it was very touching.
We drove five hours from Budapest to Prague. I didn't want this time migration at all. On the way to Lviv, I tried to convince my husband that it would be better if I stayed somewhere in the Lviv region. But he convinced me that he would feel better if I was safe. It was a difficult decision. My husband took our cat with him, because we did not have any documents for him, and I was afraid that they would not let us through at the border. We adopted this cat from a shelter two years ago, we were worried about her morale. But we were lucky – our cat Alba is deaf and she did not hear all the explosions, but she was still scared.
It was not difficult for me to cross the border, we stood for an hour, looked at our passports, did not look at our bags. There were no difficulties crossing the border, we can say that we were lucky.
The train to a new life and the return of a man with a cat to Kyiv/Photo courtesy of Channel 24 website:
Finding work and housing is a complex topic. I understood that I could not stay with them forever, so on the second day of my arrival we went to the migration center, relatives helped me fill out the necessary documents in Czech and I received a tolerance visa – this is a sticker in my passport, quite large, with my data, photographs. It is valid for one year, I received it in just two hours. The first word I learned in Czech was valka – war. For it was necessary to indicate the reason for the arrival. I also received health insurance from the state for a year. A doctor's consultation is free here, but you need to buy the medicine at your own expense.
In the Czech Republic, assistance is provided – 5 thousand crowns (6530 hryvnias) in a lump sum, but this is for those who are not employed. When I realized that I could get this help, I was already employed, so I didn't get it. I received a card in the Czech Raiffeisen, then he gave all Ukrainians 2.5 thousand crowns as assistance for registering with their bank. And this card became my salary.
Public transport for Ukrainians is free here – you have to show your passport and visa and that's it. This is a big support, because he is not cheap here. But you need to pay for travel on intercity trains.
Ukrainian flags in Prague/Photo courtesy of Channel 24 website:
My friends asked all their acquaintances if there were any vacancies. I don't know Czech. I know Ukrainian, Russian, English, because I am an English and French teacher. Knowledge of English came in handy. On LinkedIn, my friends' acquaintances posted my resume and gave their recommendations, there are recommendations from my previous employers.
I also looked for work on different sites, I had about ten different interviews for different positions: assistant to the general director, executive assistant, project coordinator, event manager. Good knowledge of the Czech language is required everywhere, and it was a big problem when you didn't understand a word. That's why I missed a lot of good jobs.
I got a call from the Coca-Cola company, they said they saw my resume on LinkedIn, so he was the one who helped me. I was invited to an online conversation, I had several stages and I was hired. I promised that I would learn Czech, because it is difficult to be in a Czech-speaking environment when you do not understand the language at all. I also promised that I would work long-term – at least 1 year. I've been working here for almost a month as an assistant to the general director, so far it's hard to believe it.
I study Czech with a teacher online two to three times a week. The teacher is Ukrainian, she is fluent in Czech and explains Ukrainian well to me. I have been in Prague for almost two months now and I understand 80% what people are talking about. True, I can’t always answer – I still have a fairly limited set of words, but I can communicate at a minimal level. Because at first it was very difficult, as if you were in some kind of aquarium where everyone understands, but you don’t.
The war in Ukraine is one of the main topics of conversation. But the Czechs not only speak, but actually do. I feel their support, I have already been asked a hundred times if I need help, what things, clothes, dishes. Ukrainian flags are here all over the city and I am very grateful to the Czechs for everything they do. My office is beautiful – a separate office with excellent equipment. The conditions are the same as in Kyiv, I worked for a long time as an assistant to the general directors of pharmaceutical corporations, and for a long time I was the personal assistant of Yevgeny Klopotenko, a famous chef.
There are a lot of pitfalls that do not allow you to simply take and rent a house.
Regarding housing, my colleague from The Coca-Cola Company lives near the office and agreed to provide me with a children's room to temporarily live. It's completely free as long as I get at least my first salary and can find myself some kind of housing. That's why I moved there, 7 minutes on foot and I'm in the office. They have a great family – sincere, open. We have a constant cultural exchange: I cook something from Ukrainian cuisine for them, they cook Czech food for me, we tell each other about our cultures.
I was looking for housing on Bezrealitky – this is a popular site here. As for the terms of the lease: you need to pay for the first and last month, pay a deposit that will be returned to you at the end of the lease if you do not spoil anything, and you must pay a commission to the realtor. Therefore, the first amount to be deposited is simply astronomical. It is difficult and many of my friends who came to the Czech Republic faced this. You need to use all your connections, ask all your friends, because it's hard to find it through sites.
Ukrainian borsch, which Lesya treated the Czechs/Photo courtesy of Channel 24 website
Owners of apartments need to be given guarantees that you will be able to pay. Because the fact that you are a Ukrainian and a refugee does not look to them like a person who can pay rent for a long time.
There are a lot of pitfalls that do not allow you to simply take and rent a house. Many apartments are rented unfurnished, that is, they are completely empty, then you have to buy all this furniture, and this is quite expensive. Therefore, I was looking only for housing with furniture. But I found housing for myself through friends – this is a good house, but on the edge of the city, behind it there is only a field. But it suited me because there are only three bus stops to my office. Therefore, I am going to move, I will live on my own – in a small one-room apartment.
It is psychologically difficult that I am alone, without a husband. We've never been apart for so long. We met, it's scary to say, back in kindergarten, we've been friends all our lives, and we've been married for four years now. We don't have children, but we have a cat. And this separation is psychologically very difficult, but I understand that I have to work here for some time, because it is necessary.
In Kyiv, we have our own apartment, but it is in a mortgage and you have to pay for it, because circumstances are only getting worse. And there is no opportunity to go back yet, even if the war ends tomorrow, I will not be able to go back, because I have obligations and a contract here. The salary allows you to rent an apartment, cover your life needs, although it cannot be said that it is very large, but it is quite sufficient for living.
The Czechs help Ukrainians a lot/Photo courtesy of Channel 24 website:
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Given that many Ukrainians do not work abroad at all by profession, then I have the same job as in Kiev. I think that I was lucky, and even decent pay. But I believe that this year will pass and I will go to Kyiv, to my family, because I really want to return to my life, my stolen life.
