From Kyiv to Blainville: Former journalist makes a new life in Quebec

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As Russia massed troops, weapons and military equipment along Ukraine’s eastern border in November 2021, Ukrainian TV journalist Mariia Savchuk interviewed experts for story after story trying to explain how the situation might evolve.

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“Half of the experts said they didn’t think there would be a war, and the other half said the risk was really high and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wanted this war,” he recalled the other day, a couple of months ago. weeks. ahead of the six-month anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Monitoring the situation while researching and reporting her stories for the Kyiv-based 24/7 channel, where she was a producer in the international news department in charge of a team of four, “I saw that the situation was getting much more dire.” recalled Savchuk, who is 45 years old.

“Psychologically, you try to push the thoughts away, to avoid constantly living in fear of a potential tragedy.”

But at a certain point, he couldn’t push those thoughts away anymore.

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By January this year, friends from Italy were calling her often, urging her to leave Ukraine and stay with them. It was a rough month: there was a worrying troop buildup, and she, too, was at a career crossroads. After 10 years in journalism full-time and working at three television stations, she “felt that she had done all she could in the Ukrainian media environment,” she said.

“I was not progressing in my profession. How could it evolve and what could be better for my career?

Savchuk decided to quit his job and soon after, leave Ukraine. Within two days, she bought a plane ticket, received a COVID-19 booster shot, said goodbye to her friends, most of whom also left, and tried unsuccessfully to convince her mother to come with her. On February 21, three days before Russia invaded Ukraine, he locked the door of his apartment in Kyiv and, with only a suitcase and a backpack, headed for Italy.

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“I left, very aware that I was leaving my life behind, my hopes, my plans,” he said. “I knew that I would be leaving my country for a long period.”

But he couldn’t stay with friends indefinitely and he needed to work. Canada called. Through social networks she found out a new federal government program providing a three-year work permit for Ukrainians, the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel.

Savchuk traveled to Bucharest for iris and fingerprint scanning, the biometrics required as part of his visa application, then returned to Sicily to await the letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada that would allow him to enter Canada. Meanwhile, he sent out resume after resume.

Despite her qualifications, she was applying for entry-level positions. “I needed money to support myself, to rent an apartment and buy food,” she said.

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He posted a message in a Facebook group called Canada-Host Ukrainians/Hébergeons les Ukrainiens say that she was looking for work and a place to stay temporarily.

Caroline Guerru, senior director of human resources and communications for Blainville-based Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group, came across the Facebook group one evening in April while browsing online. She saw Savchuk’s post, took a look your LinkedIn profile – and was impressed.

The Kyiv native has a master’s degree in economics and speaks English, French and Italian, as well as Ukrainian and Russian. Early in her career, she worked as an interpreter at an agency helping foreign couples with adoptions in Ukraine, and before entering journalism full-time in 2012, she worked as a translator, copywriter, and social marketing manager, among other things.

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Duchesnay had donated prescription drugs and vitamins to help 22,000 pregnant women and new mothers in Ukraine, and identified two positions that could be filled by newcomers from Ukraine or elsewhere.

Guerru contacted Savchuk through the Facebook group and they had two video calls. After the first, Savchuk felt he hadn’t performed well. “I felt more like a refugee than a professional looking for work,” she recalled.

“When you live with that uncertainty, you don’t know how to describe yourself.”

Still, Guerru offered him an administrative job. Savchuk liked that the company wanted to help Ukraine. “I calmed down and said ‘Why not start my life over here in Montreal in a new career field?’ ”

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After a two-week wait, the letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada arrived and she arrived in Montreal on May 19. A host family in the St-Laurent district, who had communicated through the Facebook group, picked her up. in the airport. She and Guerru met in person the next day; It was “super emotional,” Guerru said.

On June 6, Savchuk began working as a clerk at Duchesnay and “quickly, his skills became apparent,” Guerru said. She was soon appointed Senior Communications Advisor.

Since her arrival, Savchuk has met “a lot of warm, friendly and helpful people” and that has helped her feel more secure. Her host family is “truly kind, helpful and loving,” and her co-workers have welcomed her warmly. She has started looking for a flat and hopes to move in September.

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He talks to his mother at home in Ukraine every day through the Viber application and subscribes to TV news providers in Ukraine and to the official website of the Kyiv administration.

Can you imagine going back to Ukraine?

“In January, I never could have known that a life in Canada would start,” Savchuk said. “For the moment my experience here has been very positive and I am sure I am in a safe place, but I don’t dare to make long-term plans.”

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