A Dumfries couple’s bid to bring home fleeing Ukrainian family members has left them all stranded in the Netherlands.
Marketing director Michael Dear dashed to the Czech Republic with his Ukrainian-born wife, Elvira, to rescue her sister Krystyna Sin and 12-year-old nephew, Den, who fled Odessa after the Russian invasion.
They had hoped to bring the mum and son back to Dumfries a week ago but have been stuck in Amsterdam tied up in bureaucratic red tape trying to secure entry visas for the UK.
They are now running out of cash to pay for hotel bills and food and yesterday endured the added misery of a having their car broken into.
Michael’s mum, Pauline, who lives in Torthworwald, is calling on local politicians to help.
She said: “My family are now stuck in a queue desperate to come home to Dumfries and with every right to be here. Home Office rules that are not being relaxed in any apparent way, even though we have been told they would be.
“Michael and Elvira have three children between them – Nick, Elina and Maya – all here in Dumfries waiting for their parents and relatives. It is a very worrying time for everyone.
“Last night some lowlife has broken into Michael’s car and stolen a laptop, tablet, clothes and birth certificates. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse.”
Pauline, who lives with partner Carlo Rinaldi, added: “Michael and Elvira have had a long and tortuous journey to rescue Krystyna and Den from the bombardment of their home in Odessa but now they are stranded.
“We just want to get them all back here to Dumfries as soon as we can.
“I understand the need for security checks but they are clearly not terrorists and meet the requirements for the visas. It is British bureaucracy gone mad without any empathy.
“It is taking too long for people already traumatised by what is going on in their homeland.
“They don’t need this on top.”
Krystyna and Den managed to make their way to Lviv and then through Poland to the Czech Republic where older son, Sacha, is a student. Michael and Elvira collected them and travelled through many European countries “without resistance” to reach Amsterdam where they hoped to pick up visas they’d already applied for.
Pauline said: “It was only when they tried to come to the UK that they encountered obstacles. The whole experience has been traumatic, costly and exhausting in the extreme. They’ve been given little help and little empathy from staff.
“My son has spent much of his time along the journey helping as many people as possible to fill in application forms and explain the system as far as he can. All the people he has helped on this journey have said that his was the only help they’ve received.”
She added: “The tragic thing is that they are also having to cope with having to leave behind Elvira and Krystyna’s elderly parents, Svetlana and Vasya, behind in Odessa. They are recovering from cancer treatment and are too ill to travel at the moment. They urged Krystyna to take Den to safety.
“They are a lovely couple and have visited Dumfries on holiday a number of times.
“We are hoping that they may be well enough soon to get out and across to Moldova.
“Once the visa situation is sorted we hope that Michael will be able to go back and bring them over too, and they are welcome to share my home with me.”
