At Kozak Ukrainian Restaurant in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood, co-owner Iryna Karpenko is training her newest employee: her sister Tetiana Rozlach.
“They came last Monday. Of course it feels good, I am happy to see them smiling,” said Karpenko of her sister and 11-year-old nephew, who fled Kyiv a month ago as the Ukrainian capital came under attack.
As Rozlach learned the ropes at Kozak, she recounted the horror of realizing the war had started.
“It was terrifying, because we woke up on the 24th, it was an explosion near our house, and near our son Mykyta’s school,” said Rozlach.
She knew she needed to get her son to safety, and that his father would have to stay behind in Kyiv.
“I just promised my husband to rescue our son,” said Rozlach.
The two crossed the border into Poland, where a family friend helped them get flights to Germany. They stayed there for two weeks while Karpenko arranged for visas for her sister and nephew to come to Canada.
When mother and son landed in Vancouver on March 28, Karpenko was overcome with emotion.
“There were lots of crying. I was counting the hours,” she said.
Rozlach teared up as she remembered that moment, saying: “It was a dream. It was just happiness and tears.”
Now that she’s in Vancouver, Rozlach is eager to work at the three Ukrainian eateries owned by her sister and brother-in-law.
“I want to be useful for my family, for my sister’s family, and also for this wonderful country,” said Rozlach.
And she won’t be the only newcomer working there. Karpenko has already hired five other Ukrainians who recently arrived in BC
“Most of the newcomers are mothers with children. If you go that far with nobody, all you can count on is help from locals,” Karpenko said. “We try to post and spread the word. Whoever needs help, we are here.”
She’s also helping her sister enroll Mykyta in school here. And her son from him is helping his 11-year-old cousin with his English from him.
“My son was dreaming to have a brother or sister, he was bugging me for many years. And now his dream of him came true, an older brother. He calls him a brother,” said Karpenko.
Both Mykyta and his mother have quickly fallen in love with Vancouver, but they plan to return to Kyiv after the war.
“Our home is Ukraine, of course,” said Rozlach. “But I don’t know if we still have our home there, do you know? So I hope.”