The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘I can be safe’
Nearing one year after Russian invasion, Ukrainian woman adjusts to New Milford
NEW MILFORD — Last Thursday was special for Tetiana (Tanya) Yarosh, who came to New Milford from Ukraine in July.
She passed her driver’s test, becoming one step closer to carving an independent life for herself in the United States.
Yarosh, 21, has made many changes over the past six months — learning to drive, finding a job, making local friends and becoming more fluent in English.
Yet, she longs for the day when she can be reunited with her family. Her husband, parents, grandparents, and siblings all live in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia a year ago today.
“I want to go home, to see everyone,” she said.
Through Uniting for Ukraine, a national program created last April, Yarosh came to the United States and can stay for two years. The program provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens to come to America. Uniting for Ukraine operates through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Participating Ukrainians must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay.
New Milford’s Jill Hodge is Yarosh’s sponsor. She paid for Yarosh’s trip and has opened her home to Yarosh by providing her with support as needed.
Yarosh said she hopes to see her family once the war is over but in the meantime, continues to acclimate herself to life in New Milford.
Path to independence
Last September, through Facebook, Yarosh found a job busing tables at The Abbey Restaurant and Bar in New Milford. She works six days a week.
“I like this job,” said Yarosh, adding she would eventually like to move on to other opportunities once she decides her career path.
Her job greatly improved her
English, she said.
“What really changed it was when she started working because she was around (so many) people,” Hodge said.
Yarosh recalled when she first started the job, saying it was “uncomfortable” when she didn’t know how to say certain words in English.
She added, however, she
ways “understood everything.” When she doesn’t understand, she asks people to repeat themselves.
“And they try and say easier words,” she said.
To further improve her English, Yarosh took weekly classes offered free through a nonprofit organization called Literacy Volunteers on the Green, which provides free English literacy instruction.
Yarosh said through her job, she has made friends, with whom she has socialized outside of work.
Additionally, Hodge helps Yarosh — both in getting to and from work and in other areas of her life.
“Every day she’s helped me,” Yarosh said.
Hodge fills the role of both mother and friend, Yarosh said.
“Sometimes if we’re talking then the motherly advice will come in,” said Hodge, who has a 23year-old daughter who lives in Colorado. “From the first time she started going out with friends she made, I always told her ‘If you ever need a ride and it’s late at night or the middle of the night, don’t feel like you can’t call me. I would come get you. I would go
in my pajamas.’ ”
A look ahead
Yarosh, who celebrated
her 21st birthday with Hodge and some friends at Bambu Hibachi Sushi and Bar in Danbury, said
she s the war in Ukraine won’t end anytime soon.
Although she said she misses her family a great,
if she leaves to visit Ukraine, she won’t be able to come back.
She speaks to her family often and said she grows very upset and concerned about them.
“My parents (who live in the western part of Ukraine) hear sirens every day. The sirens have become routine,” she said.
She said regular blackouts from Russia attacking Ukraine’s power grid make it “nearly impossible” for her husband to work.
“It’s so difficult for him because he’s working on the computer and he should have good internet, a good connection. When we don’t have power, he can’t work a full day like he should,” she said.
Yarosh’s husband and father aren’t allowed to leave Ukraine during the war, due to Ukraine’s travel ban restricting most men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Yarosh said her mother doesn’t want to leave Ukraine without her father.
Yarosh said every so often, she “has a really bad day.”
She realizes however, the best place for her right now is to stay where she is.
“It’s hard but I understand if I stay here, it’s better for everyone,” she said. “For my parents and my husband, it’s less stress if I’m here because here I can make money. I can be safe.”