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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent

‘They treat us very well’: Ukrainian refugees settle into Irish life

(From left) Nastya and Vlad Slyvka, with host family Aimee, Jennie, Paul and Elsie Kirwan
(From left) Nastya and Vlad Slyvka, with host family Aimee, Jennie, Paul and Elsie Kirwan. Photograph: Ruth Medjber/The Guardian

Five weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threw the two families together, Nastya Slyvka has mastered the mysteries of Irish supermarkets, while her hosts, the Kirwans, have acquired a taste for borscht.

The Kirwans were among the first in Ireland to host Ukrainian refugees in their home, an experiment thousands more Irish families are to follow, and at least in this corner of Dublin suburbia, so far so good.

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