A nine-year-old Ukrainian refugee was so traumatised by war that she didn't speak for more than a month. Milana Pankevych was stunned into silence for almost five weeks after Russia invaded her homeland.
But now the brave little girl is now living along with her 17-year-old brother Artem and mother Olena by a Trafford couple who were inspired by their family's own World War II ordeal to welcome two refugee families. Andy Gilbride and his wife Grazyna, both 56, are hosting six Ukrainian refugees in their home in Timperley and previously offered their North Wales home to Syrian refugees.
With the hostile Russian invasion of Ukraine blazing on, and more and more families fleeing the conflict, Trafford is hosting more refugees than anywhere else in Greater Manchester, with 199 visas issued for the borough through the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme by May 3.
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Speaking to the M.E.N, Andy said: "At first [the family] were worried about getting all six of them over. They said originally the 17-year-old boy might have to stay behind – because 'he’d lived longer than his sister' and the rule about fighting men."
Artem, was almost left behind after the Ukrainian government issued a ruling that all men must stay in the country to fight. He is still traumatised and doesn’t want to be around people.
"The little girl didn't speak," Andy said, referring to Milana. "She's so sweet, she even bought a squeaky rubber chicken on her journey through Europe for our dog, Owen. I said to them, just wait until she gets here, she’ll start talking as soon as she sees the dog."
Andy and Grazyna have two grown up daughters who live in places of their own now, and one of them is also hosting a refugee family. Milana and her family arrived in England at the start of the month after they fled Lviv in Western Ukraine, via Krakow in Poland.
Trafford is expecting to welcome as many as 1,000 refugees fleeing the conflict and Andy and his family have a very personal reason for wanting to host a family here in Trafford. Andy’s wife’s mother was once a refugee herself.
Andy said: "My wife’s mother was Polish and in WW2 when the Russian’s came in, they killed her father, killed the young sons, put the four little girls on a sledge with their mother and sent them off as refugees. Her mum only survived because of someone’s help. She was taken in in India eventually and lived there for the last four years of the war. That’s why we’re doing this. I wouldn’t have my wife if that hadn’t have happened.
"On day one of the Russian invasion, I was lying in bed with Covid, watching the Russian advance on my computer. So I thought, what can I do. I started searching for people on Facebook, finding Ukrainians, commenting on their posts, offering a place for women and children and it spread like a tree, all through word of mouth."
The two families being hosted by Andy and Grazyna consist of two mothers, each with a son and daughter. Olena is 38, her son Artem is 17 and her daughter Milana is nine. Galina is also 38, her daughter Christina is 18 and her son Boris is 11.
Andy said Trafford council has been rigorous in checking his family can provide a safe haven for the fleeing Ukrainians. He said: "There were a lot of checks, especially for hosting kids. They visited around three or four times, checking our passports, our fire alarms, electrics, fire doors…making sure it was all safe."
The council gives host families £350 per month to help look after refugees, which is flat rate per household. Refugee families can also get a one-off £200 in food voucher per family as well; which can maybe be £200 each, dependent on available funding, Andy explained.
The children can go to school, the adults can work and are expected to pay taxes. They are also able to register with doctors and dentists. Andy said: "It’s just like they’ve come from the EU, like when we were still in it."
Once their visas are approved, Ukrainian refugees get a six-month visa, but if they go to Manchester Library for a three hour appointment where they have photos taken of their eyes and finger prints, they can get a biometric visa application submitted.
If this is successful, that gives them a three-year, unlimited visa and they can apply for residency during that time if they want to. Andy added: "Britain‘s been brilliant, but they were a bit slow on the visa scheme. At the start we were waiting six weeks for visa approval, I’ve heard now it can be down to three days."
Andy is currently helping the mothers look for jobs, and the children to find school places. "They’re getting settled and they’re settling in brilliantly," he said. Gilana had a job interview this week. The little girl is talking again. The 17-year-old boy doesn’t want to be around people just yet, he’s still quite traumatised, but he’ll get there.
"We’re very privileged and they can see we’re just nice people. My only worry was feeding them at first. I asked clients for donations, but was made to feel like I was begging. But my daughter’s getting married next year and we’ve got a pot of money sitting there for that. She knows we’re just dipping into that now.
"We’ve got a year, if it comes round to it and we don’t have enough for the wedding, we’ll just take out a loan, I don’t care."
None of this would be possible, Andy added, without the generous support of his good friend Trevor Kells and his company Rich Sauces who have been sending Andy money to help feed Ukrainian refugees already here in the UK, as well as forwarding money to those in need back in Ukraine and making their way through Europe.
Andy and his wife have sponsored a multitude of visa applications to date, supporting refugees in their bid to get into the UK faster to flee the conflict. They are in regular contact with other families still over there and hope to continue to help more families in the future.
If you would like more information of how to become a host for a refugee family or other ways of helping, click here.
