As war unfolds in her homeland, Solomiya Rozhko adjusts to a ‘painful’ new reality in Brisbane

The 43-year-old arrived in Brisbane on 24 March with just three sweaters, a couple of pairs of jeans, her computer and some documents inside a small suitcase.“It’s a very painful situation because Ukraine is my homeland,” she says. “It’s where I work and where I grew up, where I went to school.”

“The tourist visa is the quickest way to get into our country … instead of having to find documentation to prove your status.” Since 23 February, the government has granted more than 6,000 visas to Ukrainians in Ukraine, with the majority being temporary visas, a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs says.

“While Australia at a federal level has said as long as you can prove your identity we’ll let you in, I know some of the airlines still require passports to be shown,” Bongiorni says. “So there’s some logistical issues around working through that.”He says it’s also possible that some Ukrainians may have found safe havens in European countries and decided to go elsewhere.

Planes weren’t flying at the time but Rozhko, who works for the EU advisory mission in Ukraine, was able to find a route out through Poland with some of her colleagues. Once Ukraine’s second most populous city, parts of Kharkiv have been turned to rubble from constant shelling by Russian forces.“Australia has been quite welcoming, but I think further thought should be given to how people can remain here … because at this point, we don’t see the war ending anytime soon,” she says.The Department of Home Affairs says the government “will provide further advice” to support the transition of Ukrainians on to temporary humanitarian visas “in due course”.

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

AFL teams: All the ins and outs for round fourThe teams for the AFL matches in round four. Geelong rest Joel Selwood - who comes in? agerealfooty afl afl202
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »

How will we know when it’s World War III?Dire warnings about World War III may have functioned to prevent such a conflict from actually occurring but they may also desensitise people to its potential reality.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »

Airport delays continue across Australia's east coastLong queues and extensive delays are continuing today in airports on Australia's east coast as travellers head away for the school holidays. 9News We don't buy bitcoin We earn bitcoin From Mining I'm ready to show 10 lucky people how to earn 0.1BTC ($4,000) and more daily! No referral No withdrawal fees If interested, kindly send a DM It’s the same in any job at the moment that involves customers. People in isolation, can’t fill shifts, can’t employ anyone and in goes
Source: 9NewsSyd - 🏆 23. / 51 Read more »

Airport delays continue across Australia's east coastLong queues and extensive delays are continuing today in airports on Australia's east coast as travellers head away for the school holidays. 9News We don't buy bitcoin We earn bitcoin From Mining I'm ready to show 10 lucky people how to earn 0.1BTC ($4,000) and more daily! No referral No withdrawal fees If interested, kindly send a DM If the pre-departure arrival requirement gets any longer it will be just as fast to drive to the F1 (& far less stressful).
Source: 9NewsAUS - 🏆 10. / 72 Read more »

Morrison’s secret weapon for Qld comes from Taiwan ... via Brisbane councilEarly polls suggest Labor will win the election, but that won’t stop the LNP targeting Labor’s marginal seats in south-east Queensland.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »

‘This shouldn’t happen’: Ferrari star attacks team over ‘disaster’ as ‘hard to accept’ reality looms‘This shouldn’t happen’: Ferrari star attacks team over ‘disaster’ as ‘hard to accept’ reality looms Carlos How did he go
Source: FOXSportsAUS - 🏆 24. / 51 Read more »